Over Ruled
by SoapQueen89
Summary: Updated Chapter 24! Alexis Davis has taken on a murder case, and finds herself up against the new D.A. Ric Lansing. Alexis Davis, Ric Lansing, Zander Smith, Emily Quartermaine, Jason Morgan, Sonny Corinthos and others.
1. Default Chapter

It was another late night for defense attorney, Alexis Davis, as she sat in her office going over the last piece of evidence against her new client, Zander Smith. It looked grim for the young man being charged with murder, but she wasn't out just yet. She still had a few tricks up her sleeve to use in her client's defense. She learned a few tricks of the trade while she spent some time in the DA's office, though her stay was brief, she did learn a thing or two while there. She removed her black rimmed glasses from her nose and rubbed the pressure points with her fingers, she was beginning to feel the stress from this case and she sighed as she leaned back in the chair. It had been late nights for Alexis since she took on this case, so much circumstantial evidence, but one all important piece of evidence could be the clincher that might convict her client who was obviously being framed for murder.

She looked down at her watch, it was time to call it a night. She had been burning the midnight oil for far too long. She got up from her chair and yawned with a stretch to get out the kinks in her back. She folded her glasses and stuck them in her pocket before she closed her briefcase tight. Once again, she's taking her work home with her, it was never ending for Alexis Davis. She grabbed her briefcase and her cloak as she headed towards the door of her office. She turned back and looked over her desk making sure she didn't forget anything, then turned off the light, and closed the door.

She walked out onto the front steps of her office building and breathed in the cool night air. She looked up into the midnight sky, the stars twinkled at her as to say hello. She smiled in return and walked down to the sidewalk. She pulled her cloak up against the back of her neck as she felt a chill and shivered. It was only September, but it felt like November was coming up fast. She walked down the sidewalk towards her car she had left parked under a streetlight, like she had so many times before. Working late every night, she felt it safer then parked in the dark alley where she was suppose to park.

Her new client weighed heavy on her mind, she had got him out on bail, but only because she had vouched for the young man and took him into her custody to satisfy the judge. He was a young man, about 19, a reckless sort, but there was just something about him though that told her to believe him and his story about what happened. He was much a mystery to her though, not knowing more then his name. There was something about him that told her she could trust him, it seemed strange to think, but she felt it in her gut the young man was innocent.

She drove home to Harbourview Towers, she had one of the penthouses on the 21st floor. It had a beautiful view of the city, she admired it every morning when she woke up and looked out across the harbor. She had brought Zander back to her apartment a few days prior, making sure he'd keep promise, she forbade him to go anywhere without her permission. She could see he was becoming anxious about the trial and he was not happy being cooped up in the penthouse all the time. He was getting restless and she needed to do something before he skipped out on her and the bail money she had asked a friend to put up.

Across town, DA Ric Lansing sat working in his office. He had a stack of paperwork to do before tomorrow's docket and it looked like there was no end in sight. He reached for the file folder that was next in line and opened it up. He jotted some notes in the margin, things he wanted to remember to bring up at the court appearance. "Alexis Davis, Defense Attorney ....." he muttered under his breath to himself. He recognized the name, though he had never had the pleasure of sparing with her in a court room. He heard the stories from others he's worked with in the past. Her reputation for a smart and savvy attorney certainly will make for a challenge, he may just have to work for a conviction this time. He smiled to himself as he closed the file folder and put it on the finished pile he had stacked on his desk. He certainly looked forward to going one on one with the attorney that had many folks in town talking.

He glanced down at his watch and noticed the time. It was after midnight and he was still at the office. "Something is wrong with this picture." he said to himself as he closed the folder he was reading and got up from his desk. "Ric, it's time to go home. Work can wait till tomorrow." he thought to himself as he grabbed his satchel and overcoat on his way out the door. He turned off the lights and closed the door, leaving the work behind, he was going home for a night cap and a good night's sleep.

Work didn't fill this thoughts, she did. He figured only a smart and brilliant attorney would take on a murder case like the one that dropped into her lap. He was relatively new in town, not knowing many, he wondered of course about her courtroom tactics, being she probably knew the inside and out of the courthouse, he was so new too, she had the advantage over him, but only a small one, he had tried cases before, it wasn't his first, he certainly wasn't green by any means. But the thought of losing to a woman attorney, turned his insides, he certainly wasn't going to let some woman rake him over the coals in court.

Zander lay asleep on the sofa when Alexis walked into the penthouse. He was startled awake by the noises she made when she came in the door. The rattle of keys made a clanking sound as they hit the desk when she dropped them. He stirred and she turned quickly to see him sit up on the sofa.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Zander. Were you asleep?" she said as she removed her cloak and draped it over the desk chair.

"I was." he smirked "I waited up for you, I must of dozed off." he added as she approached him.

"It's after midnight, why don't you go upstairs and get some sleep. We've got a lot of things to go over tomorrow before next week. I want you to have a clear head." she said as she stepped out of his way as he made his way to the stairs.

"Good idea." he yawned as he groggily climbed the stairs.

"Good night." she quickly added as he reached the top landing.

"Good night, Ms. Davis." he replied as he took the next few steps and disappeared into the darkness.

She smiled when she heard his politeness. He was a sweet kid. She couldn't fathom the idea that he would kill someone, especially premeditated. She didn't think he had it in him, but she had only known him a few weeks, she could be wrong about him, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he was being framed for killing the well connected mobster, Sonny Corinthos.


	2. Chapter 2

Alexis sat on the sofa with a cup of coffee warming her hands, she was overlooking some papers from Zander's case as he emerged from upstairs. He slowly came down the stairs and flopped down on the overstuffed chair.

"Do you know what time it is?" he yawned.

"You're not a morning person, I take it?" Alexis said as she removed the pencil from her mouth.

"No, I'm not a morning person. What are you doing up at this hour? It's still dark outside, Ms. Davis." he said as he pointed out to her that it was dark outside by pointing towards the window.

"Yes, Zander I see that. But I had things on my mind and I just couldn't sleep. I've been looking over your case for the past hour, is there anything that you haven't told me?" she questioned him as she held a cup of coffee between her hands.

"No, for the hundredth time. I told you the last thing I remember before waking up in the alley. I got bashed over the head and woke up next to a dead guy. The rest is a big blank." he replied.

He had only been in town for a few weeks, he had arrived not knowing a soul, and living on the streets. Desperate for money, he had got a runner job with a business man, at least that's what he called himself. Zander didn't question his business, it wasn't any of his, and if the guy was willing to pay Zander for running some errands who was he to complain. He knew what was in those packages he was delivering but didn't question it, those who asked questions ended up dead. He did what he was told and got his pay, Mr. Alcazar was a very generous man when it came to paying for Zander's services.

"Okay let's go over this again, Zander. I need to be absolutely sure on the sequence of events that night, I don't want any surprises." Alexis said as she jotted down some notes in the margin of the paper she was staring at. "Let's take it from the top."

Zander sighed as he rubbed his brow with his hand. "Okay for the last time, I hope." he replied as he sat up in the chair and leaned forward. "I got a call on my cell phone. I met with Lorenzo on Pier 34, he gave me a package he wanted delivered, he told me it was crucial that I get to the right person within the hour. Attached to the package was a note with the place, time and who I was to meet and give the package to. He handed me a smaller package with cash, my pay for services rendered. I stuck the cash in my pocket and walked away from him with the other package in my hand."

"Do you know what was in the package you were delivering?" Alexis interrupted with an obvious question that the DA was bound to ask her client.

"Did I know? No I didn't know what the package contained. But it really isn't that hard to figure out, I'm not the kind of person to ask questions about these things, I just do what I'm told. For the kind of cash Mr. Alcazar was paying me, I didn't feel the need to ask questions. Can I get back the story now?"

Alexis nodded and Zander continued.

"I delivered the package on time and received another package to take back to Lorenzo .. Mr. Alcazar. I returned to the pier and gave Mr. Alcazar the package I was given by the contact. I got a pat on the head for a job well done and I left. I cut through the alley because it's a shortcut to the loft apartment Mr. Alcazar had set me up in when I started working for him. The next thing I remember is that I felt pain on the back of my head and I was on the ground. I wasn't completely out because I felt myself being dragged and being propped against something. I was searched by whomever it was and I heard them walk off before everything went black. I don't know how long I was out, but when I came too, I heard the sirens of the police cars and I was in no condition to run very far. I got up and rubbed the back of my head, and then I saw the dead guy laying across the alley from me. Before I knew what was going on there were cops everywhere and I was being searched. And of course you know the rest."

She let him finish telling his side before asking more questions of him. "The gun was found on you, and you have no idea how it got there?" she asked.

"Of course not! Ms. Davis, I may work for an alleged mobster, but I do not carry a weapon. Ever." he said being sure to make a point of mentioning that fact to her about himself.

"Okay, well the gun is not traceable, so the DA is going to assume as the police did and say that you got it off the streets or that someone gave it to you knowing it couldn't be traced. We are going to be very careful about Mr. Alcazar. We can't open the door for lead in questions by the DA. He's going to make a point of it to mention that Mr. Alcazar and Mr. Corinthos were not on friendly terms and that Mr. Alcazar sent you to do his dirty work."

"But I didn't!" Zander replied frustrated with this whole situation.

Alexis could see that her client was becoming more and more frustrated that he was being judged because of his association to Mr. Alcazar. Mr. Alcazar a known dealer in arms and drugs, internationally, was not a person to take lightly by any means. He was a business man and made his money by any means necessary. She did not want to bring up Mr. Alcazar if she didn't have to, but by the way it all looked to her, she was gonna have to.

"Okay, what about at the police station? I assume they read you your rights and questioned you."

"For hours and hours. They were getting relentless till someone spoke up and asked if I wanted an attorney."

Alexis's turned and looked at him.

"You didn't ask for an attorney before they started to question you?" she asked as she removed her glasses from her nose.

"Of course I did, and I told them I wasn't saying anything till I got one. I might not be the smartest kid on the block but I no not to talk to cops without an attorney." he chuckled. For a street kid he was pretty smart about certain things, which led her to believe there was more to the story of Zander Smith. It piqued her curiosity as they sat and talked about what had happened to him after he was picked up by the police.

There was just something about the young man that made her wonder where he was from, who he was, and how he got to Port Charles. His reactions to certain things led her to believe he was running from something or someone, but she didn't feel it her place to ask about his past. If he wanted her to know, he'd tell her in his own time.

"Getting back to Mr. Alcazar. How long have you been working for him?" she asked.

"I don't know, Ms. Davis. A few months I guess. He's been good to me."

Alexis cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah real good to you, so it seems. He allowed you to get caught and arrested and now you're charged with a murder you didn't commit. Yeah I'd say he's been real good to you." she replied with sarcasm.

"You believe me?" Zander asked, his eye widened at her remark.

"Of course I do. I wouldn't of taken the case if I didn't. Look, Mr. Corinthos had plenty of enemies in this town and elsewhere. It's obvious, at least to me, that you were set up. But it's one thing to see the evidence and know that, and it's something else to prove it. But hope is not all lost here." She noticed the look of worry on his face and knew she had to tell him something to help ease his fears.

She ruffled through some of the papers and said to him .... "I'm going to get you out of this .... trust me."


	3. Chapter 3

Zander sat in the chair outside of the DA Ric Lansing's office, while his attorney Alexis Davis was inside pleading his case with Mr. Lansing. He could hear the argument ensue as she tried to explain to Ric Zander's side of the story. As he sat waiting, his head turned with a snap as he caught a glimpse of a young lady walking down the hallway towards him. He thought young lady because she certainly didn't look like a young girl, she filled out the business suit she wore quite well. His eyes focused on her as she approached and smiled a hello. He smiled in return to be polite as she stood next to him and knocked on the door of the DA's office. She was allowed inside and she opened the door and stepped in. She didn't close the door and Zander listened as she was asked by Ric why she was there.

"I brought you the case file, sir." she said.

"Alexis Davis, this is my intern and legal clerk Emily Quartermaine. Emily, this is defense attorney Alexis Davis." Ric did an introduction of the two ladies who occupied his office.

"Nice to meet you, Emily." Alexis greeted.

"Nice to meet you too, Ms. Davis. If you don't need anything else Mr. Lansing, I'll be going to lunch now." Emily replied.

"Okay, I'll see you back here in about an hour. We've got alot of work to do on some cases coming up." Ric said and Emily smiled before turning towards the door to leave.

"Oh, I'm just curious but does the young man who's sitting outside belong to anyone?" she asked before leaving.

Alexis grinned. "Yeah, he does. He's a client of mine and I asked him to wait for me while I spoke with Mr. Lansing."

"Oh, is he in some serious trouble or something?" Emily questioned, her curiosity had gotten the better of her.

"Emily, you know better then to ask that." Ric replied and reminded her that it wasn't her place to ask about those he was meeting with.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. I'll go to lunch now." she replied as she quickly turned and walked out of the office.

Zander watched her as she passed him, she turned and smiled when she saw him watching her. She stopped and walked towards him.

"Hi." she said shyly.

"Hi." Zander replied with a smile.

"My name's Emily .. and you are?" she asked as her eyes focused on his strong facial features.

"I don't think you should be talking with me ...." Zander replied though glad she was. He hung his head and looked down into his lap, his hands folded.

"Why not? I was just being polite." she replied as she took a seat next to him.

He looked up and looked into her eyes, a look of care and compassion washed over her.

"I'm sorry. I'm Zander." he apologized and told her his name, hoping he didn't scare her off by his rudeness.

"Well, I better be going .... I hope things work out for you." Emily replied as she got up from her seat.

Zander watched as she walked down the hallway, he hoping that he'd get a chance to see her again. He became quite smitten with her in just the few brief moments he had the chance to talk with her.

Ric and Alexis sat inside the office talking about the young intern.

"She's very smart and very ambitious." Ric said to Alexis once Emily left the room.

"I can see that. She's very pretty too. Is she attending college locally?"

"A few classes for now, she's working here to gain some credits. She's got the determination to go far. She's going to make an excellent attorney some day." Ric praised her.

"So what are we going to do about these charges against Zander, Mr. Lansing. It's circumstantial evidence, you can't be seriously thinking of taking this to court." Alexis said as she looked over her black rimmed glasses.

"The murder weapon was found on him, his prints all over it, Ms. Davis. How can I not take that into serious consideration?"

"But that's the only piece of evidence you have against my client. Hospital records tell you he was assaulted, that has to tell you something." Alexis pleaded Zander's case.

"It tells me that at some point your client was assaulted, it doesn't tell me he didn't kill anyone. I need more then the hospital records for that night, he could of gotten the beating earlier that night, and that's why he was in the alley, perhaps he was meeting the man who he thought did it."

Zander had heard quite enough from the DA and he rushed into the office. "I did not kill that man, Mr. Lansing! I swear to God, I didn't do it!" he pleaded. Alexis got up from her seat quickly to quiet her client.

"I thought I told you to wait outside for me?" she scolded.

"I know, I'm sorry but ..."

Alexis turned him around and walked him to the doorway. "Now, you sit out here and let me do the convincing, okay?"

Ric watched Alexis sit her client back outside the doorway and then close the door before she came back and sat down in the chair.

"I'm sorry for that outburst." she apologized as Ric sat forward in his chair.

"With the evidence I have here in front of me, Ms. Davis .. I have enough to indict your client for murder." Ric folded his hands on top of the folder that lay in front of him.

Alexis picked up her briefcase and stood up from her chair. "Then I guess we'll see you in court, Mr. Lansing. But I'd prepare yourself for one hell of a fight, because I don't like to lose."


	4. Chapter 4

A week had passed and Alexis had been in contact with DA Lansing a few times about Zander's case. She had tried to plead down to a lesser charge, being there was insufficient evidence for a murder charge against Zander. She had gotten Ric's deal down to involuntary manslaughter, but still if Zander would plead to that, it would still be saying he did it, and Alexis felt that Zander shouldn't take the plea regardless of DA Lansing's gift of the lesser charge. Zander was innocent and she was bound and determined to prove it.

Alexis sat on the sofa with piles of law books surrounding her as Zander walked down the stairs. "Finding anything useful?" he asked as he approached her.

"Not really, just giving myself a headache reading all this legal jargon." she pushed up her black rimmed glasses that kept slipping down her nose.

"Well, I'm going out for a little while and leave you here with your reference books." he said as he headed for the door.

"Okay but be back at a reasonable hour. And don't get yourself into any trouble." she replied as she looked over her glasses.

He nodded in acknowledgment and grabbed the set of house keys she had given him before leaving the apartment. She flipped through another law book looking for case files that might prove useful in Zander's case, unfortunately she was coming up empty. But she pressed on, she knew there had to be a precedent set someplace that would fit his case.

Zander walked out the revolving glass doors of the Harbourview Towers and breathed in deeply. He was going stir crazy in the penthouse all the time, he was glad Alexis was okay with him going out once in a while. He headed down the street towards the docks, not really sure that's where he wanted to end up but it was the direction he chose to walk in. He walked down the few steps and noticed a familiar face sitting on the wooden bench and he approached her.

"Emily, isn't it?" he said as he came up to her.

She turned to see who was talking to her and saw it was the guy she had met a week or so earlier in the DA's office. She smiled in return and moved over to make room for him to sit with her on the bench.

"Yes, it's Emily .... Zander, right?"

Zander took a seat next to her and noticed she was reading from a law book she had in her lap. "Interesting read?" he asked.

She looked down at her book and closed it quickly. "No not really." she giggled. "Just catching up on some reading, but it's not very interesting." she added.

"Oh, but I take it you're going to school to be a lawyer?" he asked as he noticed the other books she had with her.

"I hope so, some day. I really want to help people, ya know."

He had wished he had such a beautiful young lady who would of helped him before his life did the downward spiral and he got himself into the mess he was in now.

"I'm sure you'll be a great lawyer one day." he smiled, she certainly looked smart enough and from what he saw the other week in the DA's office, she had the boldness to be a lawyer.

"I don't mean to pry and please tell me it's none of my business but ... if I may ask ... are you in some serious trouble? I mean, your attorney and DA Lansing were in some serious discussions this past week." she asked hoping she wasn't be too forward or too nosey.

"Serious trouble? Yeah I guess you could say that. DA Lansing wants to charge me with killing Sonny Corinthos. Even though I've told him over and over again, I didn't do it. He just doesn't believe me." Zander replied hoping what he said wouldn't scare her off.

"You don't look like the type that would kill someone, Zander." she said as she gave him a once over.

"Thanks but DA Lansing's the one who has to be convinced of that. He says there is enough evidence to charge me, and Alexis is working on proving me innocent."

"Why don't you tell me about it over a soda at Kelly's?" Emily suggested. "I'm buying." she added hoping he'd take her up on the offer.

He looked down at his watch, checking the time. He had a few hours to kill before he had to be back at the penthouse, he figured why not.

"Sure, sounds great." he accepted her offer and he helped her gather her things from the bench.

The two of them walked down the docks towards Kelly's. His eyes focused on her beautiful features, as her auburn hair caressed her face, and her smile made a lasting impression in his mind. She certainly was someone he'd like to get to know a lot better, and she seemed to be interested in getting to know him as well.

Zander and Emily sat in Kelly's getting acquainted for a while, she really seemed to enjoy his company and he made her laugh, which was something she hadn't done in some time. Being focused her studies, a social life was pretty much non existent for Emily, it was school and her job with the DA's office that took up her time. Though she would make time in her schedule to see Zander again. As she talked with him and got to know him better over the course of a an hour or so, she slowly began to realize perhaps what he said was true, that he didn't do what her boss says he did. Perhaps he was innocent......just perhaps there was more to the story.


	5. Chapter 5

Zander and Emily walked out of Kelly's together, and literally bumping into Detective Taggert. Taggert dangled the silver handcuffs in front of Zander's face, and Zander shot back a look of confusion. "You know the drill, Smith." Taggert said and he noticed Zander glance towards an opening to make a run for it. "Don't do it, Smith. You know I'll catch you." Taggert added as Zander turned around in defeat waiting for the handcuffs to be slapped on his wrists.

"What am I being taken in for this time?" Zander asked as Emily stood dumbfounded not knowing what to say or do.

"Oh did I forget to tell you that part, Smith? That's the best part, and wait till you hear, you're really gonna love this." Taggert snickered. "It seems someone doesn't like you socializing with the good girls in this town, Smith. You're bail's been revoked." Zander tried to twist his way from from Taggert's grasp, but it was no use, between the handcuffs and Taggert's grip on his arms, the only place he was going was back to the PCPD.

"Hey you can't do that!" Emily spoke up as Taggert began to pull Zander with him back to his police car.

"I can and I just did. If you want to help, Ms. Quartermaine, I suggest you call Smith's attorney and have her meet us at the PCPD." Taggert replied as he helped Zander into the back seat of the cruiser.

Emily pulled her cell phone from her bag as the cruiser pulled away with Zander in the back seat. She quickly dialed his attorney, Alexis Davis. Working for the DA she had memorized all of the attorney's Ric was associated with.

"Ms. Davis .. It's Emily Quartermaine. Zander needs you down at the PCPD. Detective Taggert just arrested him as we walked out of Kelly's, something about Zander's bail being revoked. I'll meet you there." Emily flipped her phone closed and rushed to the PCPD to see if she could help her new found friend.

When she arrived, she walked into the squad room and saw Zander handcuffed to a chair waiting. He noticed her as she walked in and approached him. "Don't worry, I called Ms. Davis, she's on her way." Emily said as she pulled a chair from the other desk and sat down next to him.

"Awe how cute, Smith's got his own cheering section now." Taggert joked as he walked passed. "Don't you have work to do in the DA's office, Ms. Quartermaine." he asked as he picked up a few files from the desk behind them.

"Actually no, it's my day off, Taggert. Don't you have anything better to do then to harass residents of this town?" she shot back as she stood up from her seat.

"But this isn't any resident of our town, Ms. Quartermaine. Mr. Smith, here is a hardened criminal." Taggert returned with a blank stare.

"I doubt that very much, Taggert." she replied as she followed close behind him waiting for his comeback.

Zander sat handcuffed to the chair as Alexis came in to the squad room, he noticed her approaching and showed off his silver bracelets courtesy of the PCPD.

"Okay what's all this about and why is Zander handcuffed to the chair, it's not like he's going anywhere." Alexis said as she stood next to her client.

"Sorry Alexis, you will have to wait for Mr. Lansing. I just arrest people." Taggert threw up his arms and shrugged with a smirk.

"Okay well then what did you arrest my client for this time?" she asked as Taggert brought her the file folder with Zander's name on it.

"Something about the judge revoking his bail, counselor. I don't know, I just do what I'm told." he replied and walked back towards his desk to finish up the paper work.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Alexis yelled out in frustration and anger as she read the report.

"No counselor, I'm not kidding." Ric replied and she turned towards him as he approached.

"You are seriously going ahead with this, Ric? I thought we all had a deal?!"

"Well, evidently your deal is null and void." Ric replied as he took the folder from her hands with a snap.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Zander said as the others talked around him and not to him.

"It seems the judge revoked your bail agreement, Zander. And you're back in lock up." Taggert smirked as he removed the cuffs from Zander's wrists and pulled him up with a tug on his jacket.

Taggert opened the door to the free standing jail cell in the squad room and held it open for Zander to step inside. He slammed it shut and locked it. Emily stood by Zander, even though they had just become acquaintances, there was something about him that told her not to leave his side, he needed her. She stuck around the squad room, just watching him lean up against the cold metal bars waiting for Alexis to return with some good news. She and Ric left the squad room to get clarification on the rescind order of Zander's bail agreement.

Emily leaned against the outside of the bars looking in as Zander leaned against the inside looking out, their hands touching barely as they wrapped them around the bars.

"Alexis is going to get you out of here, you know that, right? You have to trust her to do that." Emily said trying to reassure him that he wouldn't be in the cage for very long. She knew of Alexis's reputation as an attorney, she was one that didn't like to lose and she was very determined to help the innocent. And Emily believed he was one of the innocent.

"Why are you here? Why do care so much about me, you don't know anything about me, Emily?" he asked wondering why she was so invested in him already.

"I don't know, Zander. I just want to help you if I can." she replied as her hand brushed against his as they held onto the metal bars together.

"But why? You don't know me anymore then a stranger you may meet on the street." he asked again.

"Because you're a nice person, Zander. And I think your innocent." she blurted out her feelings about his case, not thinking.

He gave her a confused look. "I know I shouldn't of pried but I did. I know all about your case, I've been working on it with Mr. Lansing for weeks now. I read your statement, Zander. I do think you are innocent. And I want to help you, if I can."

Just then Zander noticed Alexis and Ric walking back into the squad room, Alexis looking concerned.

"So, tell me I'm getting out of here tonight, Ms. Davis." he concerned he'd be in lock up till the trial in 3 weeks.

"Unfortunately no. Apparently someone's had enough influence to overturn the agreement we made with the judge. It looks like you'll be here for the duration." her eyes filled with disappointment she couldn't do anymore for her client.

"So in other words, I'm being railroaded for a crime I didn't commit!" he replied loudly enough to turn Ric's head in his direction.

"Yeah pretty much." Alexis replied, not having any more information for him.

Emily started thinking and the more she thought about the apparent situation the more her gut instincts felt right. "You just wait right here .. I'll be back in a few minutes." Emily excused herself and pulled out her cell phone from her pocket.

"Hi, it's Emily. Can you come down here to the PCPD, right away? Thanks." she flipped closed her phone and walked back to Zander and Alexis.

"Who did you call?" Zander asked.

Emily cracked a smile .... "I might know who the influence was who got your bail agreement revoked. I have a pretty good feeling about this and we'll soon see if I'm right."


	6. Chapter 6

Emily waited with Zander as Ric and Alexis walked off together to discuss some things about Zander's case. Zander wondering who Emily had thought was the influence who got his bail agreement overturned, and then he noticed someone walk through the double doors of the squad room and an angered look came over her face.

"I knew it! Grandfather, how could you?!" she said sternly as he approached her.

"What do you mean how could I? Do you know this .... this deviant here has a rap sheet as long as my arm and you have to ask how could I?" he replied as he pointed in at Zander still locked up behind the metal bars.

"Zander is innocent! He didn't kill anyone!" Emily replied angrily at her grandfather for not believing the truth.

"Emily, dear, how do you know that? You don't know that for certain. You're taking this deviant's word for it." Edward replied as he pulled Emily away from the cage.

"I know in my heart, Grandfather. And I want you to take back your favor and set Zander free. Right now!"

Edward looked over at Zander, a young man who perhaps was innocent but he wasn't taking any chances with his granddaughter's life, being she was around him, she could very well be in danger.

Emily saw she wasn't getting through to her grandfather by reasoning with him, she decided to do the only thing she could think of, though she hated to do it, to free Zander she had to, and hoped that some day her Grandfather would understand.

"Look, if you do not take back your favor and get Zander released, I will be moving out of the house tomorrow morning, grandfather!" she hated to threaten her grandfather like that but she wanted Zander released.

"You wouldn't leave your home for this common thug?" Edward questioned.

"You bet I would, in a heart beat. Zander is innocent and you are railroading him right into prison! And that's not right, grandfather ... it's not right at all."

Edward sighed in defeat, he didn't want to push Emily further away from her family, so he picked up the receiver of the phone sitting on the desk and dialed. Emily stepped away from him and walked back to Zander.

"That's your grandfather?" Zander asked as she stood next to him.

"Yeah, and he thinks just because he has the power and the money, he can buy what he wants, which in this case was you being locked up in jail and away from me. How he knew that we even knew each other is beyond me, but he did." she replied as she watched her grandfather talking on the phone.

He walked over to her with a scowl on his face. "Okay, it's done. The deviant is free to go." he said and he motioned for Ric to come over to join them.

"You can release Mr. Smith." Edward said reluctantly. "His bail agreement stands as it was."

"Um, I know you own most of this town, Mr. Quartermaine, but perhaps I should talk with judge first before we do that." Ric said as he picked up the phone and called upstairs to the judge's chambers.

Ric dialed the appropriate judge to find out for sure and then came back to the free standing metal cage that held Zander. Emily and Zander's eyes were locked on each other, he was longing to be free and she was longing to be with him.

"Unlock the cell door, Taggert. Zander is free to go." Ric called to his detective to release the young man from the cage.

"Thank you grandfather." Emily said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek for doing what was right.

Edward turned and walked towards the doors of the squad room in defeat, his mind wondering now how the person who was really behind Zander's being locked up was going to react now that Zander was free. Edward may have the money and the connections but it was a joint effort to get the bail agreement revoked. He loved his granddaughter and that was his motivation to keep Zander behind bars, but his partner had other reasons of another kind to keep the deviant behind bars.

Ric noticed the looks exchanged between Emily and Zander. He tugged on Emily's jacket to get her attention. "May I see you for a minute?" he asked and led her away from the others to talk with her.

Ric led her into the interrogation room and closed the door for privacy. "I hope this relationship that seems to be building between you and Zander isn't going to hinder on your job here with the DA's office, Emily."

She wondered the exact same thing and didn't know quite what to say. "I'm hoping it won't either, Mr. Lansing. But I believe Zander to be innocent and I don't want to see him go to prison for a crime he didn't commit." she replied wanting to be as honest with him as she could.

"We'll see how this goes, but if your relationship with Zander gets any more involved ...." Ric's words drifted off and Emily knew what he was going to say without him saying them.

"I know, I shouldn't get personally involved in cases, but Zander's different. There is just something about him that intrigues me, he's like a book with blank pages that are just waiting to be filled up. And I know I just met him and we're getting to know each other, but my heart is telling me that he's innocent and I want to do everything I can to help him." she explained hoping she just didn't blow the chance Mr. Lansing was giving her.

Ric opened the door of the room .... "I'm trusting you not to cross the line, Emily. If you do, then we'll have to have another talk about your internship in the DA's office."

She left the room taking Ric's words seriously, she knew he wasn't playing any games with her. She joined Zander and Alexis and walked out of the PCPD with them, hoping her heart was right. The three of them stepped out on the front steps of the PCPD together, Zander breathing in deeply the cool night air and filled his lungs before exhaling. It felt good to be free again, even though he was only locked up for a short time, he hated the idea of spending another minute behind bars.

"You're not in trouble or anything with Mr. Lansing for believing in my innocence are you?" Zander asked as they made their way down to the sidewalk.

"Well, let's just say that he's not too pleased with my performance in there." Emily giggled.

Alexis noticed something was happening between the two of them, something she was glad to see, someone else finally saw in Zander what she saw and she looked at Emily directly and said ...."You know, I could always use an ambitious young intern to help me at the office, that is if your interested in working for the other side?"


	7. Chapter 7

"You know I agreed to work with you to keep Zander Smith in jail, but I didn't agree to losing Emily." Edward said into his cell phone.

"I know, and it seems she's more attached to him then we thought. I can't let her find out that I'm the one who set this plan into motion, Edward. I came to you with this deal, because I knew you had influence where I didn't and I thought the two of us could benefit both from having Zander Smith in lock up. But I see that backfired on us, real nice." the voice replied.

"Why don't you talk with Emily, she always listens to you, Jason."

Keeping Zander in lock up would give Jason the chance to get at him without endangering his sister. He didn't want Emily hurt, and a prison accident would work quite well, but Emily was a bit more stubborn then he and Edward figured. She was not going to make this easy for him. He knew that Zander was the only person who could of had the means, and opportunity to kill Sonny, and now it was Jason's turn to get his revenge.

"I might just do that, Edward. Let's hope she's a little more understanding with me then with you." Jason replied and flipped closed his phone, hanging up on his grandfather.

"If you want something done right, ya got to do it yourself." he muttered to himself as he walked down along the pier towards one of the warehouses where he had a meeting with a supplier.

"Thank you for the offer, Alexis. But I like it in the DA's office, and Mr. Lansing has been good to me, I would hate to leave him in the middle of this big case." Emily said as the three of them walked down the sidewalk towards Alexis's car.

"Okay, well the offer stands, whenever you'd like to take me up on it. Do you need a ride someplace?" Alexis offered.

"I'd like to spend more time with Zander, if that's okay?"  
Zander looked down at Emily. "I'd like that." he replied as they got into the car.

"Well, I'm warning you now, all I have in the kitchen at my house is popcorn, so if you want something else, you'll have to order take out and have it delivered." Alexis snickered.

"Take out is fine with me, how bout you Emily?" Zander asked as he looked over his shoulder at her in the back seat. She looked a million miles away in deep thought and Zander asked his question again.

"Emily? Are you okay?" he asked and it brought her back from her thoughts about her grandfather and what he had done that afternoon.

"I'm fine .... take out sounds great." she agreed as Alexis pulled the car in and underneath the apartment building into the parking garage.

"You know I was thinking about Edward and his stunt to keep Zander in jail. He couldn't of done it alone. I mean Edward is shrewd but what did he have to gain by keeping Zander locked up. And before you say anything, Emily .. I thought about that it being you, but how did he know that you and Zander had met?"

"That was my question too, Alexis. It has grandfather's prints all over it, but I don't think he worked alone, someone else wanted Zander in lock up, I just can't think of who it would be." Emily replied, her mind drawing a blank of suspects.

"I can think of one ..." Zander spoke up.

"Oh yeah, please share with the rest of the class, Zander." Alexis replied as they all got out of the car and started to walk towards the elevators.

"Jason. He's Sonny's right hand man and best friend, isn't he? And it wouldn't be hard for him to find out about me and Emily, we were at Kelly's most of the afternoon."

The three of them boarded the elevator and Alexis pushed the buttons for the floor of her apartment. "Jason's a good guess and I wouldn't put revenge past him, he and Sonny were very close." Alexis agreed.

"Think about it .. he wants me locked up, and that will keep you away from me, Emily .... Jason's the perfect ally for Edward." Zander replied when he saw Emily's face disagreeing with he and Alexis.

"We're going to have to be a lot more careful, if it is Jason." Emily said as the elevator came to a stop on the correct floor.

"Here, you guys go ahead inside and I'll go get dinner. That will give the two of you sometime to talk." Alexis suggested as she handed the keys to Zander.

"Are you sure, Alexis?" Emily said as Alexis held the doors to the elevator open.

"Yeah, go on .. I'll be back in a few." Alexis smiled and stepped back on the elevator as Zander and Emily walked down the hallway together to Alexis's penthouse.

"That was very nice of her." Emily replied as Zander unlocked the apartment door.

"Yeah she's sweet that way. I just hope she's not as sweet in the courtroom." Zander said as he threw the keys down on Alexis's desk and closed the door.

Emily walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. Zander's eyes met Emily's and it was instant attraction, he scared himself a little, the feelings for her had already begun and they had just gotten more acquainted that afternoon.

He wasn't sure what he was feeling, but it certainly wasn't anything he had ever felt before. He sat down next to her on the couch, their knees touching and pulled his back quickly. Emily giggled nervously. It was awkward and he could see it in her eyes that she was having the same feelings he was.

"I'm sorry for staring." he said as he leaned back against the cushion of the couch.

"Oh no need to be sorry, Zander ... I like it when you look at me that way." she replied softly.

"You do?" he questioned as he sat forward.

Emily could feel her insides twist all different ways, it was a feeling she had never felt before and it scared her a little. She felt the overwhelming urge to kiss him, but she didn't want to be so forward, she just never felt this way about anyone else before. She got lost in his eyes when she looked at him, her heart got all a flutter when she was near him, her palms moistened and she felt the need to be with him all the time. They had only just met but she knew at first sight, Zander was the one .... it was instant attraction.

Before she knew what she was doing her hand lay on top of his, their fingers interlaced into one another and she smiled, he returned a nervous smile. He felt the urge to lean in and kiss her. Before he knew what was happening between them, he was leaning in and hesitated not sure if he should go further, but then he noticed she leaned in too. She didn't back away from him and so he leaned in a little further. In an instant, just like the attraction they felt for each other, their lips met. It was sweet and it lingered for some time, it was like neither of them wanted it to end.


	8. Chapter 8

Alexis walked into Kelly's and was greeted by the DA. He wondered if she'd make a worthy opponent inside the courtroom as well as out. He approached her with a smile and she nodded as she passed him on her way to the counter.

"What no hello or how are you?" Ric said as he turned towards her.

"Hello Mr. Lansing ..." she smirked.

"Hello Ms. Davis .. did you get your client home alright?" Ric asked as he stepped closer to her as she waited for Penny to wait on her.

"Yes he's fine, thank you."

Penny stepped up to the counter and took Alexis's order. Ric overheard what she ordered and it seemed an awful lot for 2 people. "That's some order for two people ..." he said as she turned towards him.

"Isn't though, but I guess my client is pretty hungry tonight, considering he spent all afternoon in lock up." she said snidely.

"And who's fault is that?" Ric came back.

"I don't know, Mr. Lansing .. you tell me. I always thought well of our judges on the bench here in Port Charles, I guess this would mean that we got some bad eggs in your basket."

"My basket? Oh come now, Ms. Davis. I seem to recall your client's new girlfriend being there as well as her grandfather .... so it seems this is coming from your basket, Ms. Davis .. not mine."

"My basket is none of your business, Mr. Lansing." Alexis snipped back as Penny brought her order to the counter.

Alexis paid for the food and brushed passed Ric. "See you in court, counselor." he smirked as she passed him by.

She stepped outside the diner and had to shake off her frustrations with the man she knew only as the DA. She wasn't sure she wanted to know him any other way. He was so smug and arrogant, and it was a wonder the diner held his ego for that long period of time.

As she walked back to the penthouse, she decided to take the short cut across the docks. She didn't get very far before running into the man her client called his boss. "Mr. Alcazar ....." she said as he approached.

"Ms. Davis ... I hear you have taken on a new client." Lorenzo replied.

"Yeah I have, thank you for the retainer. Care to tell me what took you so long to get in touch with me?" she asked as she tried not to look so nervous in front of him.

"I had business to attend to, Ms. Davis. There are no problems though, I take it?"

"No problems other then the client spent this afternoon in lock up because someone tried to revoke his bail agreement. I thought this would be an easy case, Lorenzo ... I didn't expect any problems with outsiders."

"You just worry about Zander and making sure he gets acquitted, let me worry about the outsiders who are making waves." Lorenzo replied as he noticed she was carrying a paper bag in her hand.

"Well, I better be getting back to the penthouse, before Zander begins to worry." she replied as she passed Lorenzo and headed for the stairs.

"Ms. Davis ... tell Zander not to worry, that everything is being handled." Alexis nodded and walked up the stairs and disappeared into the open corridor.

Lorenzo took out his cell phone and dialed it quickly. "I need to know everything that happened today with Zander's bail agreement and I need to know right now." he demanded to the voice on the other end. He flipped closed the phone and stuck it back in his inside jacket pocket.

Zander pulled back from Emily, her lips quivering for more of his kiss. "I'm sorry ...." he apologized as he wiped his bottom lip with his index finger.

"Sorry for what? I wanted it as much as you did, Zander."

He got up from the couch and began to walk back and forth trying to shake off the urge of just taking her in his arms and kissing her again. He was drawn to her, their bodies like magnets, he couldn't help it.

"Look, I don't know if that was such a good idea." Zander replied as she got up and went to him.

"What's so wrong about being attracted to someone, Zander? It felt so right ...." she said as she reached up with her hand and brushed the side of his face.

Zander grabbed her hand with his and pulled it away from his face. "This ... cannot happen." the tone in his voice became stern .. he was upset with her or upset with himself, she thought.

"Zander .. why can't it? I don't understand." she asked as he distanced himself from her.

"This .. cannot happen because I don't know what my future holds, Emily ... I may be in jail for a very long time if I'm convicted in 3 weeks! I don't want to get close to you and then have you pulled away from me, I couldn't handle that on top of everything else." he explained.

"I would wait for you ...." Emily simply replied. He looked into her eyes and knew she meant what she said. He didn't doubt her for one moment that she wouldn't wait till he was free to be with her, but he couldn't ask her to do that.

"I can't ask you to wait for me, Emily .... I wouldn't want you to. There is so much you don't know about me, Emily. So much that I don't want you to know, things in my past that are better left buried there ... in the past."

He intrigued her curiosity as he talked about not telling her everything about himself, there was something he was hiding and she wished he trusted her enough to tell her about it. She hoped in time he would open up to her, but until then, she wouldn't add to the pressure by asking any more about it.

"Why don't we forget about the kiss ... and just take one day at a time. There's no reason to rush anything, if things happen we'll just let them happen naturally. Okay?"

"Okay .... we take things slow, one day at a time ... and while we're at it, we can pray that Alexis can get me acquitted so we can be free to be find out what comes next."


	9. Chapter 9

Alexis walked into her penthouse with a paper bag from Kelly's and saw Zander and Emily snuggled together on the couch. She cleared her throat to announce her presence as she stepped into the apartment and closed the door. Zander and Emily both startled that she was standing only a few feet from them, watching them as they sat together on the couch. It became awkward for the two of them as Alexis handed Zander the paper bag filled with dinner.

Zander opened the bag and emptied it's contents on the coffee table one item at a time, being sure not to spill anything. The aroma of burgers and fries filled the apartment as they unfolded each item and started eating their dinner.

"So I take it the two of you got acquainted while I was gone?" Alexis asked before taking her first bite.

Zander and Emily exchanged looks of getting caught doing something they weren't suppose to. "How much did you see, Alexis?" Emily asked nervously.

"Who me? I didn't see anything." she winked and smiled. Alexis thought she'd let them off the hook, she could see the attraction between them the first day she had seen them together. Who was she to stand in their way of building a relationship.

"Oh, I saw Mr. Alcazar on my way back from Kelly's. He told me to tell you, Zander that you shouldn't worry about anything, it's being taken care of. And no I didn't ask what that means, I'm not sure that I want to know." Alexis said as she sat and watched the two of them finish off their burgers and fries.

"I think it's best that you don't know, Alexis." Zander replied before taking his last bite. "I'm sure Mr. Alcazar is doing everything he can to not make this case happen in a courtroom." he added.

Alexis and Zander went over his statement for the hundredth time, he was getting tired of telling it to her, but she wanted to make sure she had every little detail before going into a courtroom. With only a week till the hearing, Zander had to be prepared for anything, and he should expect the unexpected. While Alexis was drilling him about the night Sonny was shot, she sequestered him to the penthouse with no visitors, she didn't want Zander distracted, she wanted him focused on the case and his hearing.

As they sat and went over the questions the prosecution may ask, they were interrupted by the phone ringing. She got up off the couch and went to answer it.

"Alexis Davis." she said when she picked up the receiver. "I see ... yes I'll be sure to tell him." she hung up the receiver and came back over to the couch. She started putting away the paperwork she had laid out on the coffee table and Zander began to wonder about the phone call.

"Alexis, who was on the phone?" he asked as she continued cleaning up.

She looked at him over her black rimmed glasses and cracked a smile. "Mr. Lansing ... he called to tell us that the hearing date has been moved up to the day after tomorrow." she said bluntly.

"You're kidding right?"

"No I'm not kidding. We have another day to prepare for the courtroom and we are certainly are not ready for that just yet."

Zander got up from the couch, he had not seen Emily in a few days and needed to get out of the penthouse, he had been looking at the 4 walls for too long.

"Would you sit, your pacing makes me nervous..." Alexis said as she watched him pace back and forth.

"I can't help it .. I've been in this apartment for too long, Alexis ... I need to get out of here for a while."

"We have too much work to do before this hearing, Zander ..."  
Zander's was just drained, he and Alexis had been over this case forward, backward and upside down. Alexis explained what was going to happen at the hearing. She wanted him to be as prepared as he could be for what Ric Lansing was going to throw at him once he was inside the witness box.

"There is only one thing that you have to remember, Zander .... I don't want you to lose your temper, no matter what the DA brings up, just answer his questions with direct answers, don't elaborate. I'll take care of the rest."

They both heard a knock on the door and Alexis went to answer it, she not expecting any company. She opened the door to find Emily standing in the hallway. Alexis invited her in and as she stepped inside, she didn't waste a step running into Zander's arms.

"I'm sorry I know Alexis asked me to stay away, but I couldn't take being away from you any longer..." Emily's words drifted off as Zander held her in his arms.

He was happy to see her, he too wanted her to be with him, she had stood by him so far, he wanted her to be with him every step of the way, from now on.

"Okay, I can see we won't be getting anymore work done tonight. Why don't you kids go out, Zander's going stir crazy here with me anyway." she replied as she glanced at Zander.

"Have you had dinner yet?" Emily asked hoping he hadn't.

"No, I haven't....we've been working all day on this case." A smile came across Emily's face and she led the way towards the door. "Good .... Alexis do you want us to bring anything back for you?" Emily asked as Zander opened the door for her.

"No that's okay, I'll find something here, but thanks for offering." Alexis replied as finished cleaning up the file folders that were scattered on the coffee table.

"You guys be careful ..... and be back at a reasonable hour." Alexis added before Zander and Emily left the apartment.

Zander and Emily found themselves sitting on the docks just watching the tide come in. Zander didn't care where they'd go, he just needed to be with her and needed to forget about the hearing coming up. He had all sorts of things running through his mind, it was giving him a headache just thinking about it.

"So how are things at home with your family?" he asked as they sat together on the bench.

"As well as can be expected I guess. Grandfather isn't talking to me and my parents .... well, they're so busy at the hospital I don't get to see them much at all." she replied and she laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for the stuff going on at home for you ... it must hard living with people that treat you that way."

"Oh no need to apologize, Zander .... I've been living in that house for a long time, I'm used to the treatment. I guess what disappoints me the most is that grandfather can't see reason about us seeing each other. I guess I should say, me seeing anyone .. he's overly protective like that."

"Sometimes I wish I had a family like that .. I guess if they're overly protective it does show they love you and care what happens to you." he replied giving her a hint into his past.

"You didn't have a family, Zander?" she asked

"Not one to speak of, no." he replied and left it at that, he didn't want to tell her all the sordid details. There was too much in his past, he'd like to forget.

His evasiveness about his family intrigued her even more, she wanted to know everything there was about him. She felt he wasn't being totally honest with her about his past, and it was what he hadn't said that intrigued her so much. He seemed to be keeping something from her for a reason, and she wondered just what deep dark secrets were buried in his past that he wanted so much to forget.


	10. Chapter 10

Alexis adjusted Zander's tie for him before grabbing her briefcase and her keys on their way out the door. The hearing was scheduled at 9am in front of the Grand Jury, they were to decide if the DA had enough evidence to indict Zander.  
He felt so uncomfortable in the suit, but Alexis insisted on it. She said he needs to make an impression on the court, so he would suffer for the 2 hours he had to wear it. He was nervous too and that didn't help, he was fidgety and was tugging at the collar and at the sleeves of the suit, Alexis noticed.

"Would you stop that. You're making me nervous." she scolded as they stepped off the elevator in the courthouse.

"Sorry. I can't help it." he replied and she cracked a smile.

"It's okay, you have a right to be nervous. Now you sit here while I go check on a few things." she replied and showed him the bench he was to sit on and wait for her.

Zander sat down on the bench and watched her walk away from him. He didn't sit alone for very long before a familiar face joined him.

"You look nice." Emily said as she stood before him.

"Thanks .. I feel like a doofus." he replied as he tugged at the collar that was tight around his neck.

"Awe .. you don't look like one. You look very handsome." she replied as she sat down with him.

Emily noticed he was nervous as his knee bounced up and down. "You're going to do just fine in there." she said hoping that he'd take her words to heart.

"That's what Alexis has been telling me since we left the penthouse. She also adds on that I shouldn't worry .... but guess what ..I am!"

"Alexis is a very good attorney, she knows what she's doing in there, you'll see." Emily replied as she grabbed onto his hand and held it in hers.

"Thanks for being here, it really means alot to know that you'll be here waiting when this is all over." Zander replied and noticed the DA appear from the darkened corridor.

Ric noticed the two of them sitting on the bench together and walked passed without a word or a nod to Emily. She didn't much care what her boss thought of the relationship between her and Zander. She always had the job offer from Alexis in case Ric revoked her internship because of it.

"He's not giving you a hard time about me, is he?" Zander asked as Ric walked into the courtroom.

"Nothing I can't handle. Don't worry about it .. it's nothing."

Alexis came up to the two of them after she checked on a few things. "Ready for this?" she asked Zander and he looked up at her.

"No, but I guess I have no choice." he replied as he stood up from his seat.

"Don't worry ...." she began and he interrupted ..."Yeah I know, I'll be just fine." he smirked.

Emily stood up and went to him. She pressed her lips against his .... "for good luck ...." she whispered to him, he wanting more then what she was giving and she wiped the lipstick smear from his lips with her finger and giggled.

Zander and Alexis walked into the courtroom, and Zander started getting scared more so then nervous. His insides twisted and turned all sorts of ways as Alexis led him to the defense table and told him where to sit. She laid her briefcase on the table and opened it. After taking the paperwork she needed she closed it and set it down on the floor along side her chair. Zander watched her as she meticulously placed all she needed right in front of her. She finally sat down in her seat and flipped back a page on her legal pad, ready to jot down all she needed to during the hearing.

The bailiff emerged from the side door and announced ... "All rise, court is now in session, the Honorable Judge Williamson presiding." Zander rose to his feet as asked and the judge appeared from the doorway behind the bench. The judge sat down in the big leather chair on the bench and struck down the gavel to bring his courtroom to order.

"We are here today to find if the evidence against Zander Smith is substantial enough to indict him on involuntary manslaughter .. is this right, counselor?"

Ric rose to his feet. "DA Ric Lansing prosecuting for the State of New York, and yes that is correct." Ric stayed standing as the judge looked over the file in front him. "Whenever you're ready, Mr. Lansing." the judge replied and waited for Ric to begin.

"The state is ready to present into evidence the proof to prove without a shadow of a doubt that the defendant, Zander Smith did commit the involuntary act of manslaughter. We will prove that this young man not only committed this act of violence but was ordered by a third party to commit this act and he did it willingly. The defendant's character has come into question regarding his employment and who he has been known to associate with, thus giving him the motive, means and opportunity to commit the crime. The state is also wanting an indictment verdict from the Grand Jury so we may prosecute the defendant to the fullest extent of the New York state law." After giving his opening statement, Ric sat back down in his seat at the opposing table.

The judge looked in Alexis's direction and she stood up from her chair. "Counselor, your turn." the judge said as Alexis buttoned her blazer.

"Alexis Davis for the defense, your honor." she began. "The prosecution may have all kinds of evidence against my client, but it's all circumstantial, your honor. Mr. Lansing has not one piece of evidence that unequivocally proves that my client committed this crime, in fact Mr. Lansing has in his position a hospital record that proves the shadow of doubt I need in this case. The defense will argue that even though the defendant, Zander Smith was in the alley with Mr. Corinthos, dead, Mr. Smith was not near the alley when the crime was being committed, in fact we have evidence to say that the defendant was across town at the time of the killing. And while Mr. Lansing brought up Mr. Smith's employment and those he associates with, we'd like to argue the simple fact here that Mr. Smith is not a known criminal who would have access to the weapon in evidence or that Mr. Smith even knew the victim, Mr. Corinthos. The prosecution is bringing into evidence alot of what ifs and maybe's .... we the defense are here to prove without a doubt that the defendant, Zander Smith would not and did not commit the crime of involuntary manslaughter."

Alexis sat down in her seat once more and the Judge looked out over his courtroom. The Grand Jury sitting behind them, Zander felt all the eyes in the courtroom on him. He couldn't help but feel they had already tried and convicted him on appearance alone.

"Mr. Lansing, you're up first. Call your first witness." the judge asked and Ric stood up from his seat.

"The prosecution calls Port Charles police Detective Marcus Taggert to take the stand." Ric began and everyone turned their attention to the back of the courtroom as the doors opened and Detective Taggert walked in. All eyes were on him now and he glanced over at the defense table as he walked passed.

Taggert took his seat in the witness box as Ric gathered his thoughts together. "Detective Taggert, would you please tell the court in your own words what happened on the night in question."

And so it began, a few hours of questions and answers to determine Zander's fate, as he sat in the courtroom, Zander couldn't help but think how things would be so different had it not been for that fateful day when he was 15.


	11. Chapter 11

Ric buttoned his suit jacket as he walked towards Taggert, who sat in the witness chair, Ric waiting for him to answer the question.

"If you would Detective, tell the court what happened on the night in question." Ric asked again.

"I received an anonymous phone call around midnight at the station, they said the police would be interested to to know that there was a body lying in the alley down at the docks near Pier 34. A few officers and myself went to investigate the lead." Taggert began.

"And then what happened?"

"When we arrived on the scene, not knowing what we may find, we had our weapons drawn and we walked into the alley. We found Zander standing over the body that laid on the ground at his feet. We proceeded to then remove him from the immediate area of the body and searched him."

"And what if anything did you find in your initial search?" Ric questioned.

"We searched the defendant and found a gun in his jacket pocket." Taggert replied as Ric went to the evidence table and picked up the weapon that laid on display.

"Is this the gun you found in Mr. Smith's pocket that night?" Ric asked as he handed a gun that was sealed in a plastic bag to Taggert.

"Yes sir it is. Ballistics tell us that it is the weapon that was used to shoot and kill Mr. Corinthos." Taggert replied as he adjusted his posture in his seat.

"Then what happened?"

"We removed Mr. Smith from the crime scene and placed him in a squad car. We took him back to the PCPD and began questioning him after reading Mr. Smith his rights."

"What if anything did Mr. Smith tell you?" Ric continued with his questions as he pointed to Zander sitting at the defense table.

"Mr. Smith didn't tell us anything. He asked for counsel and made his one phone call. A short time later, Ms. Davis showed up." Taggert replied as he glanced over Ric's shoulder at Alexis.

"One last question, Detective Taggert .... the weapon that was found on Mr. Smith, what can you tell me about it?" Ric asked and walked back towards the table.

"The weapon isn't traceable, Mr. Lansing. The registration numbers have been shaved off it so it can't be. It's a common practice among criminals." Taggert replied looking directly at Zander.

"Thank you Detective Taggert, your witness Ms. Davis." Ric said as he sat down in his seat.

Alexis stood up and buttoned her blazer as she approached the detective still in the witness chair. "Did you find Mr. Smith to be coherent when you found him in the alley standing over the deceased?" Alexis asked as she looked over her black rimmed glasses at Taggert.

"How do you mean, counselor?" Taggert returned a question instead of the answer she was looking for.

"I mean, was he perhaps staggering or needed assistance to walk? Was his speech slurred?" she replied with more of a direct question.

"He may have mentioned something about being hit over the head by someone ... yes he was uneasy on his feet, Ms. Davis." Taggert replied remembering now that he noticed Zander's staggering about the alley that night.

"Did the defendant see a medical professional that night before you started questioning him?" Alexis questioned.

"There were paramedics on the scene and one did take a look at Mr. Smith before we took him down to the PCPD, yes someone did take a look at Mr. Smith."

Alexis took out the paramedic's report and held it up so those in the courtroom could see what she was holding. "This is the paramedic's report from that night, your honor and I'd like it ordered into evidence." Alexis said as she handed the report to the clerk.

"Objection, your Honor. The prosecution has had no prior knowledge of this report till now." Ric stood from his chair to argue.

"The defense didn't have this report till this morning, your Honor. I just received it before walking into the courtroom. There was no time to give prior notice about the report to the prosecution." Alexis came back.

Judge Williamson had both of them approach his bench for a private conference. After a short time of whispers between the three of them, the judge spoke up.

"Counselor, the report will be accepted and it's so ordered into evidence." Judge Williamson announced as he extended the documents to the clerk.

Ric and Alexis walked away from the bench, Alexis giving Ric a look of victory and then she continued her questions for the witness.

"This report clearing shows that Mr. Smith had been assaulted prior to the crime and that he was in need of medical attention. Also the report tells us that the paramedics on the scene told the officers that Mr. Smith needed more medical attention then what they could give him, that he should go to the hospital to see a doctor. Do you Detective remember any of this conversation between the paramedics and the officers?"

Taggert cleared his throat, now that she mentioned it, he did remember something like what has been reported. "Yeah vaguely ..." he replied being evasive.

"Yes or no, Detective." Alexis replied sternly.

"Yes I do remember the conversation, Ms. Davis. And no Mr. Smith saw no one else about his alleged injuries after he saw the paramedics. We took him to the PCPD for questioning." Taggert replied more directly this time.

"I have no further questions for this witness, your Honor." Alexis said as she returned to the defense table and sat down in her seat.

Ric rose from his seat and announced his next witness for the prosecution. "The prosecution calls Dr. Cameron Lewis to the stand."

Alexis glared at Ric and a victory smirk came across his face. Alexis shot back a piercing look of detest to Ric and wondered what he was up to this time.

Shock overwhelmed Zander as he heard a name from his past mentioned in open court. Alexis looked at Zander confused about this man the DA was calling to the stand. Zander didn't tell her about his past, it hadn't crossed his mind that the DA would dig this deep for evidence against him.

Alexis leaned in and spoke softly to Zander .... "You know this Dr. Lewis?" she asked and Zander's eyes were filled with all sorts of emotions for this man, but mostly anger and fear.

Zander didn't want his past known to everyone, there were too many buried secrets he wanted to keep that way. He couldn't let this man from his past tell all that he knows, it would prove disastrous for Zander.

Zander swallowed hard as the man stepped into the courtroom all eyes were focused on the distinguished man in the tweed suit. The older man walked in passing those who were sitting in the Grand Jury box and made eye contact with Zander. Zander glared towards him and returned a confused look to him, wondering why the man would take these extreme measures against him.

"Zander .. who is this man and how do you know him?" Alexis asked again.

Zander leaned in towards her as he his eyes never left focus of the man from his past .... "He's my father."


	12. Chapter 12

Alexis stood up with a snap. "Objection to this witness your Honor. The DA has sprung a surprise on the defense, and to be only fair, I am asking for the court to indulge us some time to acquaint ourselves with this witness?" she argued.

"Your Honor, Dr. Lewis was not subpoenaed to be here, he volunteered to testify. I as well as Ms. Davis have not had the chance to question this witness outside of this courtroom, so I don't see how it is unfair to the defense." Ric replied as Zander sunk lower in his seat knowing that Ric had outsmarted Alexis this time.

"Mr. Lansing, ..." the judge began, but Alexis interrupted him.

"I'm sorry, your Honor, may I have a few minutes with my client?" she asked after Zander leaned over to gain her attention.

"You have a few, Ms. Davis." the judge agreed.

Alexis sat down at the table and whispered quietly with Zander about the man who sat in the chair as a witness. "How long has it been since you've seen him, Zander?" she asked wondering what else Zander hasn't told her.

"About 10 years, I left home and I haven't seen him till now." Zander replied as he eyed his father sitting in the witness box a few feet from him.

"What kind of doctor is he? Ric announced him as Dr. Lewis." Alexis asked.

"Got me? But 10 years ago he was a heart surgeon. I have no idea what he is now."

"Ms. Davis? Are we ready to proceed?" the judge asked as Alexis stood up from her seat.

"Yes we are your Honor, and I still object to this witness." she still argued the point of Dr. Lewis testifying at his son's hearing.

"On what grounds?" Ric snapped.

"On the grounds that my client has not seen this man in 10 years, that's on what grounds!" Alexis fired back.

"Mr. Smith, can you tell this court how you know this man, Dr. Lewis?" Judge Williamson asked Zander.

Zander cleared his throat and sat up straight in the chair. "He's my father, sir." A gasp could be heard from those in the courtroom observing.

"And you have not seen him in 10 years, is this correct?" the judge questioned.

"Yes sir, that's true."

"I'm sorry Mr. Lansing, but this witness has no bearing on this case before this court. Dr. Lewis may be the defendant's father but he has not been in contact with his son in 10 years, I would have to say that Dr. Lewis would hold no current observations about his son." the judge ordered and then asked Zander's father to step down from the witness box.

"With all due respect, your Honor, Dr. Lewis is a licensed psychiatrist and can certainly lend his expertise to the prosecution's case." Ric argued a new direction.

"How? He has not met with Mr. Smith, he doesn't know the case we are arguing here, Ric." Alexis spoke up trying so hard to deter Dr. Lewis from testifying against Zander.

The judge seemed amused by their volleying of legalities and smiled. "Ms. Davis has a point, Mr. Lansing. Care to try something else?" the judge cracked.

"No your Honor I do not." Ric said and handed this victory to Alexis with a smirk. Alexis smiled at her win over Ric, it was one of many battles they had in the courtroom that day, and one of many Alexis won.

"Do you have anymore witnesses, Mr. Lansing?" Judge Williamson asked.

"No, your Honor. The prosecution rests." Ric replied as he took his seat.

"Ms. Davis ... you have the floor." the judge said and Alexis stood up and smiled.

"Thank you, your Honor. The defense calls the defendant, Zander Smith."

Zander was unsure of what he was going to say, but he knew Alexis and knew that Alexis wouldn't put him on the stand if she didn't think he could help the case against him. He rose from his seat and walked to the witness box, still unsure of all this, since his father was now introduced, he wondered if Ric could or would bring him up in his questions.

Alexis smiled as Zander sat down in the seat. She nodded some re-assurance to him as she stood up and buttoned her jacket and approached the witness box.

"Just relax, okay?" she said quietly to him, she saw he was overly nervous about being in the hot seat.

"Zander, please tell this court what happened the night in question." was Alexis's first question. Alexis hoped he'd remember all she told him about answering the questions with directed and precise answers and that he wouldn't elaborate on anything.

"I was walking back to my loft apartment, the alley is a short cut for me. And as I walked down the alley, I was hit from behind and knocked out. I don't remember anything after that until I heard the sirens of the police cars." Zander replied hoping he said the right thing.

Alexis smiled at him to let him know what he said was okay.

"What happened prior to the walk back to your apartment?" Alexis asked.

"I was working ... across town. I met my employer on the docks and then walked home." Zander answered not being specific as to who his employer was.

"According to the medical examiner's report, Mr. Corinthos was killed an hour or so before the police got there, Zander where were you an hour prior to speaking with your employer?"

"I told you, I was across town working." Zander said again.  
"Do you carry a weapon, Zander?"

"No I don't .. never have." he answered ademantly.

Alexis saw when she mentioned the gun specifically, his body stiffened in his seat. She didn't push the issue about the gun and moved on to another line of questions.

"Mr. Corinthos, the deceased ... did you know him?" she asked

"No I didn't. I've only been in Port Charles a short time." Zander kept his answers short and to the point, something Alexis had told him while she was drilling him on how to answer and not to give the DA any ammunition to use against him.

"Thank you, Zander. Your witness, Mr. Lansing." Alexis said as she sat down at the defense table and Ric rose from his seat.

Ric stood up from his seat and buttoned his jacket once again. He approached Zander slowly and studied him, as if trying to read him and what he was thinking. Zander looked over at Alexis and she cracked a smile of re-assurance. 

Zander took in a deep breath and released it as Ric stood before him. Zander stayed strong and tried to answer Ric's questions the best he could, not telling him what he didn't need to hear.

Ric's only question regarded his employment with Mr. Alcazar and Zander answered him honestly trying not to land himself in jail for things he's done for Lorenzo. After he answered it, Ric excused him from the witness box.

"We have nothing further your Honor." Alexis spoke up as Zander sat back down at the table. She hadn't given Ric much to work with, which was in their favor. The less Zander spoke about that night, the better for their case, it gave Ric less ammunition.

"We are going to take recess while the jury deliberates." Judge Williamson ordered and struck the gavel to close his court.

"Nice job, Ms. Davis. Do you want me to concede now or later?" Ric asked as he put his paperwork back in his briefcase and Alexis did the same.

Alexis gathered her things and as she passed Ric she fired in return ...."Conceding now could be less embarrassing for you Mr. Lansing ... less witnesses."


	13. Chapter 13

Zander and Alexis stepped out into the hallway and Emily rushed to him, wrapping her arms around him in support. Zander returned the embrace and looked up to see his father standing in the shadows, watching him. He tried to ignore the presence of his father as he and Emily stood with Alexis outside the courtroom.

"So how do you think we did?" Zander asked Alexis as he felt Emily's hand latch onto his.

"I think we did just fine. I expect the verdict to be in our favor, no need to worry." Alexis reassured Zander as the three of them walked down the corridor together.

Cameron stood in the shadows watching, he hadn't seen his son in 10 years and Cameron wasn't expecting a warm welcome from his son. He emerged into the corridor and followed Zander and his company out of the courthouse onto the front steps.

As he came upon Zander, Cameron called out to Zander, hoping Zander would at least acknowledge his existence. "Alex ...."

Zander heard a voice from his past call out to him and he wanted to ignore it as he kept on walking with Emily. Emily looked around and saw an older man standing at the bottom of the steps call out to Zander again. She squeezed his hand and stopped him from walking any further.

"Zander ... do you know that man? I think he's calling to you." she asked as they turned around and Zander had another chance to look his father in the eyes.

"Yeah I know him .... he's my father." Zander replied bluntly.

Cameron walked towards his son cautiously, not sure how Zander would react to be close to his father again. It had been a long time since the two of them shared the same air space, and Cameron had hoped it was a long enough separation to heal old wounds.

"Alex ... can I talk with you for a moment?" Cameron asked as he stood before his son, his attorney and another young lady, he was sure was his son's girlfriend.

"Why .. you haven't spoken to me about anything in 10 years, Dad. Why break your streak now?" Zander said snidely to him.

"I didn't expect you too, I'm sorry I bothered you." Cameron replied and hung his head as he walked away from his son.

"How could you be so cold to him, Zander .. he's your father." Emily spoke up as Cameron walked further away.

Zander ignoring Emily's concern, they continued walking in the opposite direction.

"I'm sorry, Em .... but you don't know the whole story!" he snapped back and they continued to walk along with Alexis, Zander not looking back to his past but forward to his future with Emily. Emily could see it in Zander's face that this was a painful topic and she dropped it. She was hoping he'd open up to her about it at some point, but he apparently wasn't ready yet to do so. She turned and looked over her shoulder at Cameron walking away and he faded into the distance.

A few hours had past and still nothing about the verdict and Zander was getting worried that all this would turn against him. Emily sat with him on the couch in Alexis's penthouse, she in the kitchen trying to scrounge something to eat besides her popcorn stash.

The tension that filled the air inside the apartment was shattered with the ring of the telephone. Alexis emerged from the kitchen and went to answer it.

"Alexis Davis." she answered. "Alright, we'll be there." she added and then hung up the phone.

"Verdict's in, isn't it?" Zander replied and stood from his seat, afraid to hear what the court had decided.

"The judge is re-conveening in an hour." Alexis grabbed her briefcase and her coat before the three of them headed out the door.

Zander and Alexis sat at the defense table waiting anxiously for the verdict in the case against him. As she sat waiting for the judge, she rewound the testimony in her head, wondering if there was something she might of missed. She wasn't 100 percent sure this verdict would come back in their favor, but she had high hopes. The DA's case was nothing but circumstantial evidence, there was plenty of doubt to be had about Zander committing this crime.

The bailiff emerged and announced the judge's presence. He took his seat on the bench and told everyone in the courtroom to be seated.

"This was to be a hearing to find sufficient evidence against Zander Smith in the shooting of Sonny Corinthos, and in going over all the testimony done here this morning, and the evidence that was entered. I have come to the decision that there is no sufficient evidence to indict, Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith, your released and free to go." his Honor declared and with one stroke of his gavel it was so ordered.

Zander stood in shock for a moment and then had the overwhelming urge to hug his attorney. Alexis was happy for the victory and she hugged him in return. Zander didn't stay around long enough to talk with him, he rushed out of the courtroom as fast as he could to find Emily and tell her he was free.

He found her sitting on the bench outside the courtroom and didn't wait for her to stand up. He picked her up in his arms and held her close to him, her feet dangling off the floor. He pressed his lips against hers in all the excitement and it took her by surprise. She giggled as he let her down and noticed the smile across his face.

"Does this mean the charges were dropped?" she asked trying to catch her breath from Zander's kiss.

"Charges dropped and I am free to go!" Zander overjoyed and couldn't believe he was free to do whatever he wanted and not having someone watching him all the time.

Emily pulled him to her again and they celebrated Zander's freedom .... together.


	14. Chapter 14

Cameron sat alone in his hotel room waiting on his dinner from room service, he turned on the television to catch the local news that came on in a few minutes. He flipped the stations to one of the local networks when his eye caught a picture of his son that flashed for a few brief moments on the screen, he turned the tv up to hear what the reporter had to say.

"The investigation on the death of local business man Sonny Corinthos continues today as there was an insufficient evidence ruling by Honorable Judge Williamson in a hearing this afternoon at the Port Charles Courthouse. DA Lansing put forth a gallant effort for an indictment against the 24 year old young man, Zander Smith, but his efforts were futile when stacked against the more substantial evidence brought forth by Defense Counsel, Alexis Davis. I have been assured by DA Lansing that this case will take top priority as the investigation into the death of Sonny Corinthos is open once again. Defense Counsel, Alexis Davis was not available for comment."

Cameron turned off the television as he heard a knock on the door and went to answer it. Once he did, he found his son standing in the hallway, Cameron then invited him in. Zander walked into the hotel room not sure what to expect from his visit but he wasn't holding out for hope that he and his father could resolve their issues in one meeting, especially after being separated for the last 10 years.

"Alex .... " Cameron greeted his son.

"Dad ... before you start lecturing or yelling or any of that, let me say what I came here to say." Zander began as his father pulled the chair from the desk and offered it to him to sit.

"Okay .... go ahead." Cameron replied and took a seat on the edge of the bed waiting to hear what Zander came to tell him.

"First off, what the hell gives you the right to come back into my life and turn it upside down? I'm trying to get my life straight and then you walk into court today, Dad! Dammit! Why didn't you just stay in Florida? Why come looking for me, now?!" Zander was filled with so many questions, he wasn't sure which one to ask first.

Cameron didn't have not one good reason for not looking for his son before now, he had exhausted the avenues shortly after Zander left home, but when none of his leads got him anywhere, he stopped looking, figured one day Alex would find his way home.

"Alex I don't have an answer for you, I wish I did." Cameron replied and hung his head in shame for not looking for his son for so long.

"It wouldn't hurt to start with an "I'm sorry..." " Zander shot back and stood up quickly from the chair. As he started for the door, he was half expecting an apology from his father before he walked out the door.

"I can tell you one thing, Dad .... I am starting a good life here in Port Charles with someone special ... and I think I'm falling in love with her Dad, I hope at least you can be happy for me." Zander continued as he stood with the hotel room door open, his father looked up and towards him.

"Was she the one you were with earlier, Alex? ... She's very pretty." Cameron replied as he got from the edge of the bed and approached his son.

"Yes, I was with her earlier. Her name is Emily and she's a law student at PCU. We've been spending alot of time together, Dad. She's been good to me and I don't want my past destroying what we have! So please let this be!" Zander said as he went to leave the hotel room but Cameron stopped him from leaving.

"Don't go, Alex." Cameron said as he grabbed onto Zander's arm preventing him from taking another step.

"Let me go! Haven't we been here before?! And we all know how that turned out, don't we?!" Zander snapped back as he jarred his arm loose from Cameron's grip and stormed off.

Cameron sighed as he watched his son walk down the hallway towards the elevators, and he did what his son asked him to do, he left him go. Cameron disappointed that he couldn't get through to his son, but he wasn't giving up on him just yet, he had done that in the past, but he wasn't about to now.

Zander stepped onto the elevator and went down to the lobby of the hotel, as he walked across the lobby floor, he hadn't noticed the two men who watched him from a distance as he left the hotel. Zander headed back to Alexis's penthouse, and the two men hurried to follow him. They kept a safe distance as they walked behind Zander, just observing where he was going. They saw him go into Harborview Towers and they followed him as far as the front door of the apartment building.

Zander headed for the elevators quickly, he noticed the tail he had picked up at the Port Charles hotel when he left from seeing his father. He hurried to Alexis's penthouse and quickly went inside. He closed the door and leaned back against it and tried to catch his breath before telling Alexis what was going on.

"Alexis? Are you home?" he called for her and she came down the stairs.

"Yeah, Zander ... what's going on? Are you alright?" she replied as she noticed he was trying to catch his breath, he looked stressed. She guided him to the couch and sat him down.

"Yeah I'm fine, but there are two men standing outside the building who followed me back from the PC Hotel." he told her.

"They were tailing you? Wonder what that's all about?"

"I don't know who they are or who they work for, but my guess would be Jason Morgan." he accused.

"We're going to get to the bottom of this, right now." she said as she went to grab her jacket and keys from the desk, she waited for Zander to follow her, he was going with her.

"Where are we going?" Zander asked as he followed her out of the apartment and into the elevator.

"We're going to see Mr. Lansing." she replied sternly, knowing he was behind the tail that was on Zander.

Alexis stormed into Ric's office, finding him behind his desk looking through paperwork and Zander followed her in. He looked up in a snap when he heard Alexis rush in.

"Alexis ... what can I do for you?" Ric asked as she stood before him very upset.

"You can start by telling me why you are having Zander tailed?!" she demanded to know.

"Alexis, what are you talking about? I'm not having him tailed." Ric replied and stood up from his seat.

"Well, someone is following him. Two men from the PC Hotel followed him back to my penthouse, Ric!"

"Look, I'll do what I can to help him, Alexis."

"Which is what exactly?" she asked as Zander stood back from the conversation, just inside the office.

"I can get a few officers on your penthouse, would that help?" Ric asked as Alexis turned towards Zander and looked for approval.

She turned back towards Ric ... "That's a start."

"You don't think they'd go after Emily do you?" Zander said as he became concerned for her.

"If it's Jason who's doing this, then no I don't think Emily's in any danger, Jason wouldn't hurt his sister. But if it's someone else who's following you, then I would say protection on Emily might be a good idea."

Zander quickly took out his cell phone and dialed Emily's number. It rang and rang and rang ... there was no answer. Zander went from worried to panicked when he couldn't get a hold of Emily.

"There's no answer on her cell phone, Alexis ...." Zander now more worried about her, she would always answer her cell phone.

"Let's not panic, Zander .... maybe she has it turned off or something...." Alexis replied but she was talking to the wall, Zander was gone, and she could only suspect he went to find her.

Ric and Alexis both left the office in a hurry to follow Zander on his search for Emily.


	15. Chapter 15

Zander tried Emily's cell again, still no answer and he became more panicked that something had happened to her. He checked all the hang out spots she could be, places she had told him she had frequented and still nothing. He wasn't about to go to the mansion to look for her but she had told him of an old oak tree that stood outside her window, and he could come visit her without being seen by the family. He took a chance that perhaps she had just turned off the cell phone and was at home safe and sound. He headed over to the Quartermaine estate hoping she was there.

He walked around the house and found the old oak tree Emily had spoke of and began to climb. He reached the top limbs and noticed the window was open, so he pushed it open farther and climbed in. He climbed in onto a window seat and then stepped onto the floor. He took a look around, calling her name quietly so he wouldn't be heard from anyone roaming the halls. He searched what he could to perhaps get a clue as to where Emily had gone to or if someone had taken her, still nothing.

He heard footsteps outside the bedroom and went to the closet to hide. The bedroom door opened and he saw someone who looked to be one of the Quartermaine's maids, although burly to be a maid, she wore a maid uniform, but he wasn't about to go ask her. She closed the door after peering into the room and then Zander emerged from the closet relieved that she didn't find him there. Zander took another look over the room and then exited the room the way he came in. He climbed out onto the limbs of the tree and looked down. He shuddered as he saw how high he truly was and hoped he wouldn't break his neck on his way down to the ground.

He left the Quartermaine estate and headed down to the docks, perhaps he'd run into someone who had seen Emily. As he passed Kelly's, he heard his name being called from behind him. He turned around and saw Alexis and Ric walking towards him.

"Have you found her yet?" Alexis asked worried about Emily.

"Nothing. It's like she vanished. We have to find her before something happens to her, Alexis!" Zander ready to rush off to look for her but Ric grabbed a hold of his arm to prevent him from leaving.

"Perhaps we should let the police handle this, Zander." Ric suggested as Zander pulled his arm back from Ric's grasp.

"After what happened to me, no thanks. I'll find Emily on my own." Zander replied and rushed off in search of the woman who meant everything to him.

"He's one to do things on his own, isn't he?" Ric asked as he watched Zander disappear into the distance.

"Yep, he does. Although I don't blame him for not wanting to call the police, Ric. He has had some bad experiences where they're concerned." Alexis replied and Ric shot her a look.

"Well, he can't do this all on his own, he needs some extra eyes out there looking for her. Not to mention who may have her, he could be walking into something very dangerous, Alexis."

"And you're so concerned about him, why?" Alexis questioned wondering why Ric had such a change a heart about Zander.

"I guess maybe cause I see a little bit of me in him, Alexis."

She tried not to laugh at Ric's revelation but couldn't help it.  
"You? An upstanding attorney like yourself?" she continued to giggle

"Hey, I'll let you know I wasn't always like this, I have had my share of mistakes and misdeeds, Alexis." Ric smirked.

"Yeah I'm sure you have .. Mr. DA." she snickered.

"Never mind, you wouldn't understand .." he got defensive  
She noticed the tone in his voice change and stopped the snickering .... "You'd be surprised how much I do understand, Ric."

"I don't think we have the time right now to talk about our misdeeds, Alexis ... Emily's missing and we need to find her."

"You're right, we need to focus on Emily ... have any ideas?"

"A few .... come on..."

A worried Zander raced down to the docks searching for Emily, but she was no where to be found. He sat down on the bench and thought about places he hadn't looked, when his cell phone rang. He opened it up hoping it was Emily.

"Emily?!" he answered.

"Oh you'll see her soon enough, if you do what I tell you to." the raspy voice said.

"If you hurt her, I swear ...." Zander threatened

"Oh she'll be fine, Zander ... just do what I want and she won't be hurt...."

"What do you want?! Whatever it is ... I'll do it! Just don't hurt Emily!"

"Well, that's good .... cause the person I really want is you."

"Where and when?!" Zander asked willing to do anything to get Emily back to him.

"Pier 52 .... warehouse B." the voice replied giving Zander the location. "Oh and come alone, Zander. Cause if not, you won't be seeing your girlfriend ever again."

The line went dead and Zander flipped closed his phone. He didn't think twice about rushing into the warehouse and giving in to the demands of those who held Emily. He wasn't about to let her get hurt because of him. He ran the docks toward the warehouse, worried about Emily, hoping she was alright. He reached Pier 52 and looked for the warehouse he was told to. He approached warehouse B and noticed a burly man standing outside waiting for him.

"So glad you could join the party, Zander." the burly man said as he walked up to Zander, he not having anytime to react, the burly man took him by the arm and shoved him in through the open door of the warehouse.

"Where is she? Where's Emily?!" Zander demanded.

"You are in position to be making demands like that, Zander .... all in good time. Have a seat." the burly man said as he shoved Zander in a chair at a table that stood in the middle of the huge empty warehouse.

Zander looked around the empty warehouse and didn't notice anything that would tell him who had taken her as he waited for what happened next. He noticed a door at the back of the warehouse open and Emily emerged with another man, stocky build, he held her by her arm and forcing her to walk with him towards the table where Zander sat.

Once they approached the man left her go and she ran to Zander. He got up and rushed to her taking her in his arms thankful she was alright.

"Are you okay?" he asked as she cried into his chest.

"Yeah I'm fine, they wouldn't hurt me." she replied.

As the two of them stood together in an embrace, another man emerged from the opened door and approached. Zander looked up to see who was walking towards them as a familiar face stepped into the light so he could see who it was.

"You know Zander, I wouldn't hurt my own sister, but it did get you here .... just where I want you."


	16. Chapter 16

Jason stepped towards Zander and Emily stepped in front of Jason, protecting Zander from her brother. She gave her brother a scowl as he made a move to remove her from his path to Zander. Zander grabbed Emily and pulled her behind him so she would be out of the way now protecting her as Jason stepped closer towards him.

"You leave him alone, Jason .. he didn't do anything to you!" Emily shouted at Jason as she came out from behind Zander and stepped in front of him again.

"Emily, this doesn't concern you! Step out of the way!" Jason barked back.

"This does concern me now Jason .. you made sure it did by taking me to get Zander here!" she fired back as she shoved Jason against his chest pushing him back a few steps, which only made him more angry.

Jason would never manhandle his sister, but her just being in the way made him angry. He had to remove her from the situation if he wanted time with Zander, so he had one of the burly men take her from the warehouse and put her in the office on ice for a while. Emily was kicking and screaming the entire way to the office for the burly man to let her go and for Jason not to hurt Zander. Jason shrugged off her pleas and focused his attention on Zander, the man who shot his friend and business partner.

"Now, perhaps we can get down to business." Jason said as he stepped forward towards Zander.

Fear starting to set in now that Emily was gone from the room, without her there, Jason was uncontrollable and Zander didn't know what Jason would do next, and that made Jason all the more dangerous. He was running on revenge and being unpredictable as Jason was, it was a deadly combination.

Jason stood in front of Zander and stared him down, Jason thought perhaps he could get Zander to confess for killing Sonny or perhaps he would just take Zander out and forget about the confession. Jason pulled his 9mm from his waistband and held it on Zander.

"Do you know it would be so easy for me to take you out right now ..." Jason said as he held the gun in his hand, pointed at Zander.

"I'm sure it would be Jason, and you would be shooting an unarmed man .... that would prolly get you 10 to 20 in Sing Sing." Zander cracked, not letting Jason see that he was scared.

Jason's expression hadn't changed much while standing there, the coldness in his eyes was overwhelming and revenge could be seen as well. Zander was fresh out of options for an escape from this situation, his only hope was that Emily could escape from the guard and take control of Jason again. He listened to her and Zander needed her more now then ever before.

As the stare down continued in the warehouse, Emily was put in the office out of ear shot of what was going on with Jason and Zander. Being resourceful as she was, she started looking for a way out as soon as she heard the door being bolted from the outside. She managed to get to the telephone that sat on the desk and dialed 9-1-1 for help.

"And who says mobsters are smart..." she chuckled to herself as she dialed the numbers.

"9-1-1 operator .. what is your emergency?" the voice said on the other end of the phone.

"Hello .. yes my name is Emily Quartermaine and I am being held in a warehouse on Pier 52!" she remained relatively calm while talking on the phone with the operator and made sure she knew all the details they needed to send some help.

"Which warehouse, maam?" the operator asked as Emily saw the burly guard come back to check on her.

"Warehouse .... B" Emily managed to tell her before hanging up the phone so she wouldn't get caught.

Emily waited till the guard stepped into the office and rushed him, wanting to get through the door, all she could manage was a cry for help. The burly guard picked her up off the floor and set her back down farther inside the office. She huffed at him and she made another run for the door, once again, he picked her up as she was kicking his shins, he buckled over and she ran out of the office.

"Hey! Come back here!" the guard shouted as Emily escaped down the corridor.

She knew she needed to get to Zander, but she also thought about just getting outside and away from the guard who was chasing after her. She found herself back in the enormous empty warehouse, and spied Zander and Jason in the distance. She snuck around the barrels, keeping herself hidden from the other guards, though they were paying to much attention to Zander and Jason to notice her sneaking around. She made her way down towards them, close enough so she could hear what they were talking about, but out of sight so they wouldn't see her. She noticed Zander looked to be okay, and she let out a sigh of relief.

As she stepped cautiously towards them, she could hear police sirens in the distance and they were getting closer. If she heard them, then Jason heard them too. His men scattered like frightened mice and Jason just stood there with his gun still on Zander. She stepped out from behind the barrels and started walking towards them, it was now just her, Jason and Zander, she was hoping to get out of this with no one hurt.

"Jason, No!!" she cried out as she raced across the empty warehouse. As she did, the police she had called from inside the office had busted into the warehouse with their guns drawn on Jason. She raced to Zander and threw her arms around him as Jason was still holding his gun on them.

"Jason, put it down .. this isn't going to bring Sonny back!"  
The officers kept their distance, their guns drawn as they walked cautiously towards the three of them. She hung onto Zander while trying to reason with her brother to put his gun down.

"Morgan put the weapon down!" Taggert ordered as his squad approached.

Jason glanced down at the gun in his hand and then looked at Emily as she held onto Zander's waist. "Please Jason, put it down." she pleaded.

Jason laid the gun down on the table and Taggert rushed in to take control of the situation. Emily turned into Zander thankful they were both still alive. As they stood together making sure each other was alright, an officer came up to them and escorted them outside.

As they exited the warehouse, Emily noticed Ric and Alexis waiting for them near one of the police cars. "Are you guys alright?!" Alexis asked concerned for both of them.

"Yeah, barely." Zander cracked.

The four of them stood out of the way of the officers and got all the details about what had happened inside the warehouse. Emily stood watching as Jason was brought out in handcuffs and placed into a police car. She turned into Zander and he wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. Her tears warm as they trickled from her eyes and moistened his shirt.

"What's going to happen to Jason now?" she asked Ric who stood there with them, still.

He looked at Alexis, then Zander, then her and replied ..."That will be up to the two of you ...."


	17. Chapter 17

Emily and Zander walked into the squad room with Ric and Alexis, just as Jason was led into the interrogation room by an officer on duty. Emily watched her brother through the plexi glass window, thinking about what she was about to do. She needed to make a decision, to either file charges against her own brother, or let him go and put Zander's life in danger.

Zander noticed she was stressed about the decision she had to make and went to her as she stood just beyond the interrogation room watching Jason sit waiting to be told what was going to happen next. She didn't want to be the one to put her brother in jail, but she couldn't lose Zander either. Her heart torn and ached with the choice. She looked into Zander's eyes, she knew in her heart she had to do what was right.

She turned and walked back towards Ric, Zander followed slowly behind. Emily sighed deeply as she felt Zander's arm slip around her and suddenly felt more safe then she ever had before, she knew she was making the right decision.

"I'm ready to make that statement now." she said to Ric.

"Are you ready to file charges against Morgan?" Ric asked of her.

"Yeah I am."

Emily and Zander followed Ric into another room and filed the appropriate charges against Jason for kidnapping. Emily hesitantly signed the statement as Ric stood over her and watched every stroke she made of her signature. He was unsure she would file the charges against her brother, but then he saw the look she gave Zander and it all became more clear for him. Emily was saving the man she could save, Jason was no longer the man she could save, he was in too deep and she knew Jason didn't want or need to be protected.

"I'll file these right away." Ric said as he scooped up the papers from the table and left the room, leaving Zander and Emily alone.

She stood from her seat and fell in to him. "I can't believe I just pressed charges against Jason." tears welling in her eyes as she tried to sniffle them back. "I'm so sorry Emily..." he replied trying to comfort her as he held her close to him. She sniffled back the tears and stepped back from him as she tried to compose herself enough to be seen by those waiting for them outside of the room.

"It's going to be okay ..." Zander said as he walked with her and they left the room together.

"Can we go back to Alexis's now?" she asked as she saw Ric go into the interrogation room with Jason.

They walked into the squad room and found Alexis waiting for them. She noticed Emily looked pale and offered to take them back to her penthouse. Emily smiled at Alexis's offer and gladly accepted it. "Come on ...." Alexis said as the three of them went to leave, she leading the way.

Jason had nothing to say to Ric or anyone else about what had happened between he and his sister. Ric's threats didn't budge Jason, he wasn't talking. Ric got up from his seat and left Jason in the interrogation room alone to wait for his attorney. Ric finished some paperwork while he waited and a short time later, Justus entered the squad room.

"I'd like to see my client." Justus said as he approached Ric.

"Be my guest ...." Ric replied as he went to open up the interrogation room door.

Justus looked at Ric with a snide smirk and entered the room, closing the door behind him. Ric looked on as Justus sat down with Jason.

"Spying again?" Alexis smirked as she came up behind Ric.

"I thought you went home counselor?" he asked as he turned on his heel towards her.

"No, I sent Zander and Emily back to my penthouse, I thought you could use some help." she offered.

"Help? You want to help me?"

"Okay, you don't have to take it if you don't want it. But you do know that Justus is going to get Jason off, right?" she said confidently.

Ric started to re-think Alexis's offer of helping him. "Justus can't win this one, Alexis. I've got Jason dead to rights."


	18. Chapter 18

"Your Honor, the prosecution intends to prove without a doubt that Mr. Morgan kidnapped and held his sister Emily Quartermaine at gun point, then threatened her bodily harm to get the attention of his intended victim, Zander Smith.. Mr. Morgan intentionally and knowingly committed these crimes and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law."

"Thank you, Mr. Lansing. Mr. Ward, opening statement?"

"Yes your Honor. Justus Ward, counsel for the defense. We will show that Mr. Morgan was in fact in fear of his own life if he did not participate in committing these acts against Emily Quartermaine and Zander Smith, thus Mr. Morgan should not be held accountable for those actions. Mr. Morgan is as much a victim here as are Ms. Quartermaine and Mr. Smith."

Ric sat and listened to Justus's opening statement and just shook his head at the words that came out of his mouth. Justus sat back down at the defense table and the judge looked towards Ric.

"Mr. Lansing, care to start?" Judge Franklin asked and then waited for the DA to present it's case.

Ric reviewed his notes and then stood from his seat. He buttoned his jacket before beginning and then called his first witness.

"The prosecution calls Detective Marcus Taggert." Ric announced and he saw Taggert stand up in the back of the courtroom and come forward to take the stand.

Tagget took the stand and took the oath, then sat down in the chair, now waiting for Ric to ask his questions.

"Detective Taggert, could you tell us please how you and the officers came to find Mr. Morgan at Warehouse B?" Ric asked as he approached the witness.

"Dispatch got a 9-1-1 call from that location and we responded." Taggert replied.

"And who made that 9-1-1 call?"

"Emily Quartermaine made the call to 9-1-1 a little past midnight, from said location."

"And tell us what you found when you and the officers arrived at the location?" Ric questioned still standing just short of the witness.

"When we arrived at the warehouse, it appeared to be vacant, boarded up windows and such, but one of the officers noticed a dim light coming from inside the building. That with the phone call from Ms. Quartermaine, we had enough probable cause to enter the warehouse. Once inside I saw Mr. Morgan holding his weapon on Zander Smith, Emily Quartermaine was also there with Morgan and Smith. We entered the warehouse with our weapons drawn and I ordered Mr. Morgan to drop his on the floor." Taggert responded.

"And did he?"

"No he didn't, not right away. I instructed him a few more times before he laid his gun down on the table."

"And then what happened?" Ric asked.

"Then the officers subdued the defendant and we arrested him on site. We read him his rights as we placed him in the car and took him down to the PCPD for questioning and processing."

"Thank you Detective. You're witness, counselor." Ric stated as he went back to his seat at the prosecution table.

Justus stood up from his seat and buttoned his jacket before approaching the witness.

"Detective Taggert was there anything unusual about the location, any suspicious cars in the area or other persons who looked suspicious?" Justus asked hoping that perhaps some doubt could be shed that Jason was not alone that night and giving his defense some credibility.

"Not that I saw." Taggert replied.

"Not that you saw, but it is possible there was someone else there that night, inside or outside the warehouse?"

"I guess anything's possible, counselor. But there wasn't anyone else there once we secured the scene, but those who were inside the warehouse." Taggert replied.

"Once you secured the scene, but that doesn't mean they couldn't of been there before hand?" Justus asked again.

"Objection your Honor, he's leading this witness and the question has been asked and answered." Ric spoke up and objected to Justus question of Taggert.

"Sustained. You're question has been asked and answered, counselor. Move it along to the next question." Judge Franklin instructed.

"Nothing more from this witness, your Honor." Justus replied and took his seat.

Taggert stepped down from the witness stand after be excused and took his seat again in the back of the courtroom. Ric stood up from the prosecution's table and was ready to call his next witness.

"The prosecution's next witness is Emily Quartermaine."


	19. Chapter 19

"Emily, could you tell us what happened the nigh at the warehouse?" Ric asked as he approached the witness box.

"I was walking along the pier and two men approached me, they said they worked for my brother, Jason and that he wanted to see me, so I went with them. It wasn't till later that I learned why he wanted to see me." she began.  
"Then what happened?"

"Once I got to the warehouse, Jason was there and the men took me into his office. As soon as I was sat down in the chair, Jason made a phone call. He told me afterwards that the person he really wanted was on their way and that he apologized for using me as bait to get Zander to the warehouse."

"At any time before Zander got to the warehouse, you were at all scared for your life, Emily?" Ric questioned.

"I know Jason, he'd never hurt me intentionally." she answered evading the question.

"That's not what I asked, Emily. Did you or did you not feel your life was threatened by Jason, before Zander showed up at the warehouse?"

Emily paused too long and Ric forced the answer from her.

"Were you being held at gunpoint, Emily?"

"I wouldn't say by gunpoint, the gun was visible on the desk but he wasn't holding it or directing it towards me." she answered.

"But it was there in plain sight and could of been reached for at any time?" Ric asked.

"I suppose, but this was Jason, my brother, I didn't feel that he was going to use it on me .... just ..."

"Just what, Emily? If Jason had no intention of shooting the weapon, was he using it as intimidation to do what he wanted you to do?" Ric countered.

"Objection your Honor. Calls for speculation on this witness. Emily can't possibly know what Jason was thinking." Justus spoke up.

"Your Honor, Emily is Jason's sister, they are quite close, close enough to know what each other's intentions are." Ric shot back.

"Objection is sustained." Judge Franklin replied and Ric moved on to another question.

"Emily what happened after Zander got to the warehouse?"

"Jason threatened Zander with the gun and I stepped between Jason and Zander. Jason told me to move out of the way, but I couldn't let Jason do what he was planning." she replied as she looked at Jason and then at Zander.

"So you believed Jason's threats against Zander?"

"Yes I did, I knew the way Jason was acting, he was meaning to kill Zander. I couldn't let that happen." she replied and her eyes began to well with tears as she spoke.

"According to the 9-1-1 dispatcher, you made the phone call to 9-1-1. How did you manage to do that?" Ric asked.

"Jason had one of his men take me back to the office, and then he left me there. I used the phone from there to call for help. I heard him coming back so I had to hang up, once the guard opened the door, I got passed him and ran back to the warehouse." she answered as she wiped the stray tear from her cheek.

"And what did you see once you got back to the warehouse?"

"Jason was still holding the gun on Zander. I couldn't hear what they were saying but Jason was doing all the talking. I tried to stay hidden behind some barrels, I wasn't sure what I was going to do but I couldn't leave and let Zander there with Jason. I had to do something."

"Then what happened?" Ric pressed.

"I got close enough to them and I could hear what they were saying. I called out to Jason and ran to them, and by that time I had heard the sirens outside. I tried to reason with Jason to put the gun down, but he wasn't listening."

"So by this time, you were scared for your life?"

"Mine and Zander's." she quickly replied and made a point to mention Zander's name.

"Thank you Emily, your witness counselor." Ric replied and he walked back to the prosecution's table and sat down.

"No questions for this witness." Justus replied from his seat and Jason leaned in to him to talk with him.

Emily was excused from the witness box and stepped down. Her head held high as she passed the defense table and took her seat with Zander once again.

Ric rose from his seat and buttoned his jacket once more. "The prosecution calls Zander Smith."

Zander squeezed Emily's hand and got up from his seat. He walked to the witness box and sat down in the seat. He took a deep breath as he saw Ric approach him.

"Zander, tell us how you came to find Emily at the warehouse." Ric began and asked his first question.

"I got a phone call on my cell phone saying that if I didn't want Emily hurt, I'd do what they told me. I was told she was at Warehouse B on Pier 52 and to come alone."

"What did you see once you got to the warehouse?"

"There was a man standing outside the warehouse waiting for me and then he walked me into the warehouse. Jason emerged came towards me. I asked him where Emily was and he had one of his men bring her out to me."

"What did Jason want from you?" Ric asked.

"Jason wants me dead. He thinks I killed Sonny." Zander exclaimed.

"He told you that?" Ric countered.

"Yes he told me it would be easy for him to take me out and then I reminded him that I wasn't carrying a weapon and it didn't seem to bother him that I wasn't. If Emily wouldn't of come back to the warehouse, I'm sure Jason would of followed through on his threat." Zander replied as he eyed Jason.

"Your witness, counselor." Ric said as he sat down at the table.

"The phone call you received, was that from Jason?" Justus asked his first question.

"No, it wasn't. I didn't recognize the voice, but I wasn't really paying that close attention to it. I was more concerned about Emily." Zander replied.

"I see, and when you got to the warehouse, you said there was a man waiting for you. Did you recognize this man?" Justus asked hoping to put shed some doubt about Jason not being alone in this plan.

"No I didn't recognize him, but again, I wasn't concerned about that, I just was concerned about Emily. I knew whoever it was, he had to be working for who ever had taken her." Zander replied as he looked towards Emily sitting in the first row.

"Did you at any time think that there was a third party involved?" Justus asked.

"No I didn't think that and Jason didn't say anything about someone else. Look, Jason thinks I killed Sonny, he wanted me dead and I figured that out once I got there and was threatened at gun point. If Emily hadn't been there, Jason would of killed me without a second thought!" Zander replied, his voice raised.

Jason sat at the defense table and stared coldly at Zander, Jason's eyes threatening. The look shot right through Zander and he swallowed hard. Jason was hell bent on getting revenge and Zander knew that Jason wouldn't give a second thought to killing him, if Jason got a second chance.


	20. Chapter 20

It had been a week since the trial and Zander had begun looking over his shoulder just waiting for Jason to come along and try his luck again. Zander knew Jason wasn't giving up so easily, he may of gotten off one time, but he knew it wouldn't stop Jason from getting his revenge for Sonny.

Zander and Emily walked along the docks, their laughter could be heard amidst the darkness of night. They had grown close as two people could get over the past year, Zander was thinking on asking the all important question, but didn't think with Jason hanging over him, it would be a good time. He was growing impatient and just wished Jason would give up on his vendetta.

"Is Jason what's bothering you?" Emily asked as she took a seat on the wooden bench.

Zander looked out over the harbor, the moonlight glistening off the murky water, and he sighed heavily. Jason did weigh heavily on his mind, and he hated that.

"How can I not let it bother me, Em? He tried to kill me once and he used you to do it!"

"Jason's not going to ...." she began.

"Jason will make a deal with the devil if he thought I'd end up dead. Brother or not, Jason will use you again if he has to, Em."

Emily got up from her seat and went to Zander's side. "Jason wouldn't ..." she started to say then she noticed Jason standing at the top of the stairs watching.

Zander glared at Jason as he approached, Emily took hold of Zander's arm and led the way away from her brother as if to leave. She not wanting a confrontation between Zander and Jason, leaving was the option she chose instead.

Zander stopped in his tracks and Emily continued forward being jerked back to him when she felt resistance. "I'm not running Em .. I've been running all my life, I think it's time I stopped."

Emily bit her bottom lip as concern washed over her. "Okay, if you want. Jason's not someone to take lightly though, Zander."

"I know but neither am I."

Emily wasn't familiar with this side of Zander, she had always been accustomed to seeing the more gentile side of him, so caring and loving towards her and those close to him. She saw the coldness in his eyes set in and it scared her, never seeing it before. Jason stood and stared at the two of them, Zander shooting back threatening glares. It was time Zander stood on his own and fought his own battles, he loved Emily but he could take the charge on this battle all on his own.  
Jason turned and walked away, Zander watched as he disappeared into the darkness.

"I wonder what that was all about." Emily said as she watched Jason go.

"It's his way of letting me know he's still around and that he can get to me any time and any place he wants to." Zander replied and then took her hand in his. 

"Come on .. let's go before he comes back to start something." Emily replied as she led the way up the stairs.

Emily had moved out of her family's mansion and found herself a posh loft apartment not too far from the docks. The view from the loft was spectacular, it was just what she needed, some independence. Emily led the way to the loft and unlocked the door, fumbling with the keys because Zander couldn't wait to get inside and began nuzzling her neck. She giggled as she opened the door and he followed close behind her as she walked in.

Zander shut the door with his foot as Emily turned into him. He walked her backwards towards the couch, he wrapped his arms around her and laid her down on the plush cushions, him hovering over her. He leaned into her and his lips brushed against hers gently. Being this close to him sparked something inside her she had never felt before. She and Zander had been seeing each other for some time, and though the words "I love you" was expressed by both of them, the deed of making love had not been explored .... till now.

She had her own expectations of making love to Zander, wanting to wait till they were ready would ensure those expectations. She could resist no longer, she had to feel him against her, and feel him inside her. She began to unbutton his navy dress shirt, as he watched her fingers undo them one by one. She helped remove the shirt from his shoulders revealing to her, his muscular form that lie underneath. Emily's eyes focused his features, his mouth so perfect, so deliciously inviting, she just had to have a taste.

Before Zander got the chance to unbutton her blouse, she had pulled him to her, her lips tasting his, it deepening as Zander lifted Emily's arms up and pinned her to the couch. A moan of pleasure escaped her as she felt him rub himself against her. Her legs fell open to him, he lay now between them, as his kisses trailed down along her neck. He began to unbutton her blouse, and as the blouse fell open, two soft mounds lay waiting for his touch.

Emily's eyes fluttered closed as she felt his mouth caress her, his tongue, teasing her nipple till it was hard. She moistened her lips with her tongue and another moan of pleasure escaped her, as Zander's hands caressed her gently.

Her first time with someone she loved had exceeded all her expectations, and the taste of him lingered for hours afterwards. They laid together on the couch wrapped in a blanket, their legs intertwined beneath the covers, and his arm wrapped around her waist, as they drifted off to sleep.


	21. Chapter 21

_Zander had already left when Emily had awaken to an empty apartment. She found the note he had left on the kitchen table, telling her he wouldn't be gone long. She poured herself a cup of orange juice and then went to her closet to pick out an outfit for the day. As she rummaged through her closet, she was interrupted by a knock on the door. _

_"Coming! ...." she shouted as she scurried to the door wondering who would be knocking at this hour of the morning._

_She opened the door slightly to see who was standing on the other side and saw a familiar face staring back at her. She was unsure she should let her visitor in, but he certainly didn't wait for her invitation as he pushed his way inside and slammed the door closed._

_"We need to talk." Jason said as Emily backed away from him not sure what to think of his visiting her._

_"We have nothing to talk about Jason!" Emily turned away from him._

_"Oh but I think we do ..." Jason grabbed her arm and turned her back towards him._

_"Let go of me!" she snapped and tried to yank her arm away but his grasp was too tight._

_"You are going to listen to me, Em, for once in your life .... you're going to listen to what I have to say!"_

_"Don't give me that! I trusted you Jason and you took all that away when you used me to get to Zander, I have nothing more to say to you! Now, get out!" Emily shouted back and tugged hard enough to pull away from Jason's grasp on her._

_"Em, please ..." Jason begged._

_"I told you get out! Any brother of mine wouldn't used me like that!" she cried._

_"I'm sorry, Em .... " he replied as she walked passed him and opened the door for him to leave._

_"I'm sorry too, Jason ... but an apology isn't going to make this go away. You really hurt me Jason and I don't know if I can forgive you for that." she replied and had a second thought about him leaving, she closed the door and went to him._

_"Look, I know my anger and emotions got the best of me over the last few months, and for that I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, Em. But Sonny was my best friend and my business partner, I just can't let his murder go unpunished."_

_"I know, but Zander isn't your scapegoat, Jason! He didn't do it!"_

_"And how do you know that, Em? Just because he said he didn't?"_

_"No, because there is evidence that says he wasn't there in the alley when Sonny was killed. I believed him when he said he didn't do it, and I believe him now. Someone else killed Sonny. And I'm sorry Jason for your loss but Zander isn't the one who you should be punishing. There's someone else out there who killed Sonny."_

_Jason listened to Emily's words, and he knew she was right. Zander didn't kill Sonny, and the person who did was still out there. Jason walked towards the door to leave and Emily followed behind. He stopped just short of the door knob and turned towards her._

_"I am sorry, Em. You can tell Zander that he's off the hook with me."_

_"I'll tell him." Emily replied as Jason opened the door and stepped back out into the dreary hallway._

_"And Em ... " Jason said as she stood in the doorway of the loft apartment and saw what he wanted to say in his eyes._

_"I know Jason ... me too." she smiled softly and Jason turned and walked away._

_Emily watched him go and then closed the door. She leaned back against the inside of the door, closed her eyes and sighed. Zander was no longer in danger and it felt like the whole world was lifted off her shoulders. Jason's threats had weighed heavily on her mind for a long time and now she could move on with her life with the man she loved._

_She turned and locked the door before going back to her closet to look for some clothes to wear. She grabbed a bath towel from the small towel closet and headed to the bathroom for a shower. She emerged a short time later, dripping water all over the hardwood floor as she made her way from the bathroom to the bed where her clothes lay out for her. _

_She tossled her hair in the towel and dried herself off quickly as she heard the dangling of keys in the lock of the door. Zander was back earlier then she expected and she wrapped herself in the towel before he opened the door. She reached for her silk robe and slipped it on. Once she had tied the robe around her, she shimmied from the towel, leaving it in a pile at her feet. She went to greet Zander as he stepped into the loft apartment._

_He carried a paper bag in his hand as he closed the door behind him, Emily walking towards him she grabbed for the bag. Zander grabbing onto her arm and tugged her back towards him. _

_"Morning .." she smiled and reached up to him, their lips meeting in a kiss._

_"Morning .. I went to Kelly's for breakfast. I thought you'd be hungry."_

_"I am starved." she held onto his hand and led him into the kitchen._

_She set the paper bag on the kitchen table and began to empty it's contents on to the table. "Yum ... muffins!" she was overjoyed with Kelly's fresh baked blueberry muffins._

_"I knew you liked them so much, and I got coffee too .." Zander said as he reached in and pulled two cups of coffee out of the bag._

_"Thank you." she said and smiled._

_Zander smiled in return as Emily took a seat at the table and then opened up one of the coffee cups, steam was released from the cup as she did so._

_"Jason was here." she said as Zander sat down with her at the table._

_"He didn't hurt you did he?" Zander asked with concern._

_"No, he didn't .. we just yelled alot." Emily chuckled._

_"What did he come for?"_

_"He came to apologize for his behavior over the past few months and that he didn't mean for me to get hurt. He also told me to tell you that you're off the hook with him. He won't be coming after you anymore for Sonny's death."_

_"He said that? Wow, didn't think Jason had it in him. Thought he held onto a grudge till the bitter end."_

_"Yeah well, I think he listened to what I was saying this time. I think he realizes now that you didn't kill Sonny, and the person who did, is still out there somewhere."_

_"That couldn't of been easy for you, Em. I know how close you and Jason are."_

_"Yeah it was hard and for a second I thought about telling him we were no longer family, but I know that would of just killed him, and he's hurting enough, I didn't want to add to it. So, I think now he knows where we stand and he's willing to accept that you didn't kill Sonny, which is a good thing ...." Emily got up from her seat and went to sit in Zander's lap. "Cause now .... we can look towards that future we've been talking about." _


	22. Chapter 22

_"Our future together?" Zander's eyes widened. He didn't think she was thinking that far ahead, but apparently she was._

_"Yeah, well, you know I don't mean we get married tomorrow or anything."_

_"Married, huh?"_

_"Yeah, well ... things are going so great with us now and everything. And with Jason not hanging around, we've got nothing standing in our way, right?"_

_"Yeah, .. right." A concerned look came over Zander's face, he had a past that was buried deep, he just hoped deep enough. Marriage had entered his mind, but the two of them didn't know each other all that long, she didn't know that much about him, and he wasn't to willing to tell it either._

_"Are you okay?" she asked as she noticed he got a little pale._

_"Yeah, I'm ... I'm fine."_

_"It was the whole marriage thing wasn't it? I knew I should of kept my intentions to myself." she feeling guilty now for even bringing the idea up._

_"No, no it wasn't the M word. Promise. It's just ...."_

_"Just what? You got some deep dark secret about you that I don't know about?" she asked jokingly, but little did she know what Zander's past was hiding. "You're not an axe murderer or something, are you?" she giggled._

_"Are you kidding? Me? No nothing like that." he chuckled and shrugged off her questions._

_"Then what? What's so horrible you can't tell me?" the smile she had on her face, suddenly disappeared when she saw the expression he returned._

_Their discussion was interrupted by a rapping on the door. Emily got up off Zander's lap and went to answer it, while Zander nursed the coffee he had gotten from Kelly's. She opened the door to the loft to find an older gentleman standing out on the landing. He looked familiar but she couldn't place where she had seen him before, till he asked for Zander._

_"Hi. I'm sorry to bother you, but I was told that Zander was here." the older man asked._

_Zander stood up from the table and went to the door, opening it up wide with his hand, he standing behind Emily and staring straight into the eyes of his father._

_"Please, come in ...." Emily invited the man inside the loft._

_Cameron noticing the bagged breakfast on the kitchen table when he walked into the quaint loft apartment. "Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt your breakfast." he said as Emily pulled close the top of her robe that had fallen open to show her bare neckline._

_"Oh no, we were just ..." she began._

_"What do you want?" Zander's harsh words interrupted her._

_"I came to see my son."_

_"Nothing you ever do is that simple. It's been 10 years and you just show up in court and now here .... again I have to ask .. what do you want?"_

_Emily tugged at Zander and shot him a look for being so rude to his father. She took Zander's return glare as her cue to go get dressed and to leave them alone to talk._

_"I'm going to let the two of you talk ...." she grabbed her muffin from the table and headed to the bathroom to change, grabbing some clothes as she past the closet._

_As soon as Emily closed the door to the bathroom Cameron spoke up. "She's very pretty."_

_"Yeah she is and we're trying to get our lives back on track .... and our plans don't include you."_

_"Zander, look .... I know you're upset with me and I don't blame you for that."_

_"Don't blame me? Please. You blame me for everything that has happened, hell you place the blame of my even being on this earth at my feet, don't give me that you don't blame me for hating you!"_

_"I can't go back, Zander. I can't do it all over again, there's no going back and making things right. It's time to get past it and move on. Can't we do that?"_

_"You know, I really wish I could, but ....."_

_"But what? What do you want me to do, Zander? You are my son, there's no changing that!"_

_"Oh now I'm your son, what before I was just some obligation!"_

_"Look, we've all made mistakes, your mother and I have gotten past ours and we're at least trying to make it work. We'd like you to try too. Can't you at least do that for your mother?"_

_"You have no rights anymore to talk about my mother!" Zander pointing a threatening finger at his father, his eyes glazed over in anger at the mere mention of his mother from his father's lips._

_Cameron backed away from his son. "She wanted me to tell you that she misses you, she's worried sick about you. You haven't called or written to her, she doesn't even know where you are."_

_"You didn't tell her?!"_

_"No, I thought you'd like to do that. She'd be so happy to see you, Zander. Come back home with me, spend some time with her, spend some time with the .... family."_

_Zander's eyes widened at his father's offer to come home. "You know I can't go back there....I can't ever go back."_


	23. Chapter 23

_"Can't ever go where?" Emily asked as she approached them from behind. Zander hadn't realized she had emerged from the bathroom and could hear what he and his father were discussing._

_"Nothing ...." Zander brushed off Emily's question as she gave him a kiss on the cheek and headed towards the door._

_"I'll be back a little later, I have to run a few errands." She smiled at him before she left, closing the door behind her._

_"I take it she doesn't know." Cameron said as Zander walked into the living room and offered his father a seat._

_"No, she doesn't know and I don't want her finding out." Zander replied and then stepped away from his father, Cameron taking a few steps to follow._

_"She can help you, you know."_

_"How? She can't change the past, she can't make it go away. It's better left buried where I know it's safe."_

_"Is it really? Safe, I mean ... for who? It's good to talk about these things and to really put it behind you."_

_Zander rolled his eyes at his father's question. "You know I really hate the psycho analyst talk from you."_

_Cameron shrugged his shoulders. "I can't help it. I'm a doctor, I think about these things in that context."_

_"Yeah I'm sure you have me all figured out, don't you?"_

_"Not really, but I would like to re-build what we had, Zander."_

_"Really. How do you propose we do that, dad?" Zander's cockiness surfaced._

_"Come home to see your mother. Spend some time with the family, Zander."_

_"Why do you keep asking me to do that?! You know I can't!"_

_"Why? What's keeping you from coming home? Was it really "that" bad?"_

_"In one word ... YES!"_

_"We gave you a good life Zander. You had anything you could of ever wanted."_

_"Unfortunately the money wasn't enough."_

_Zander's remark twisted the knife in his father's heart and Zander noticed the look on his father's face when he said it._

_"Look, I needed more then that .. I still do." Zander confessed._

_"And I'm sorry for that, Zander ... I truly am."_

_"No you're not! You took pleasure in not giving me what I needed as a child. Jessi and Pete were always more important then I was .. hell your practice was more important then I was!"_

_"I promised your mother that I would love you and take care of you like you were my own, and I did that! I still do love you and I wish you'd get passed all this anger, Zander."_

_"You have no idea what I feel for you, none at all!" Zander's eyes still filled with hurt and anger, but they also carried a lot of warm tears._

_"Tell me, then. Tell me how you feel, tell me so maybe we can let it go, finally."_

_Zander glared at Cameron who sat only a few feet from him. There was so much bottled up in Zander, he didn't know where to begin. It had always been Jessi and Pete came first, for as long as Zander could remember. Jessi, the bright and pretty sister who was a high honor student, college potential and loved by many. Pete, the smart and funny one who made everyone laugh, and then Zander, the screw up who couldn't do anything right. Zander the one who became the outcast of the family because of who he was._

_"You really want to know how I feel ...?! " Zander asked as he got up from his seat on the couch and went to the window, looking out over the Port Charles bay._

_"Yes I do .... I want to know what makes my son, tick."_

_"Remember my 5th birthday? Mom had made a birthday cake for me, there were balloons and streamers, and we had family there to celebrate with us. Remember that?" Zander asked as he kept his focus on the view of the bay._

_"Yeah I remember ... and I remember that bike your mom and I got for you....you rode that bike till you wore out the seat." Cameron chuckled and smiled as his mind took him back there to that moment in time._

_"We were happy then, weren't we?" Zander asked as he turned his head towards Cameron and wiped the tears that trickled down his cheek._

_"Yeah we were. At least I'd like to think so."_

_"I've held onto that moment for dear life. Want to know why, dad?"_

_"If you'd like to tell me."_

_"Because it's the only time I felt we were a real family. I mean a "real" family. It got lost some where along the way, dad. "We" got lost some where along the way."_

_"I'd like to get "us" back, that's why I'm here."_

_Zander realized he had shed some tears as he was remembering how it used to be and quickly wiped his cheeks once more hoping his father hadn't noticed them._

_"I guess this might be a good time to tell you ..... we sold the estate in Florida."_

_"You what? Why? Mom loved that house."_

_"Yeah I know but it was just way too big for the two of us. With Jess gone and Pete and then you leaving us, the house became very empty, very fast."_

_"So where did you and mom move to, then?"_

_"Believe it or not .... upstate New York."_

_"Why upstate? Mom loves the ocean, why take her so far away from it?"_

_"I have family here, remember? My grandparents don't live too far from Port Charles. So moving to New York was like coming home for me. And we're not that far from the ocean, a few hours."_

_"So what's the real reason you sold the house in Florida? Too many memories of what went wrong?"_

_"Now who's psycho analyzing?" Cameron chuckled._

_"Touché ..... but answer my question."_

_"Yeah I guess that was part of it. Your mother and I wanted a fresh start after you and Jess left the house. I guess we were kinda hoping that being in New York, we'd have better luck finding you."_

_"I don't understand, how would moving to New York give you a better chance of finding me?"_

_"Well, I was hoping that those winter ski trips to New York would of been happier times for you and would of brought you here. Dumb I know but ...."_

_"No, it's not dumb. Actually it was one reason why I ran north and not into Mexico or someplace else. Those ski trips were a happier time for me, I was hoping to find it again once I got here."_

_"Did you? Find it here ... happiness?"_

_"Yeah I guess I did. I would of never met Emily had I not run here to Port Charles. I could do without the psycho brother of hers but other then that .... I guess we're pretty happy, all considering."_

_"I'm glad to hear it. I want you to be happy, Zander. If not with me and your mother, then with Emily. She certainly seems to care a lot about you."_

_"Yeah she does, she really loves me and I love her too. I don't know where I'd be without her."_

_"She saved you, did she?"_

_"Yeah she did. She saved my life and I don't know how I can re-pay her for that."_

_"You can start by loving her, Zander. Show her how much you respect her and how much you truly do care about her."_

_"All the things I didn't get at home, huh?"_

_Cameron sighed heavily. "And here I thought we were making progress."_

_"Really? What ever made you think that?" Zander smirked._

_Cameron got up from his seat and went to his son. "So are you going to make the trip back to see your mother or not?"_

_"Can I think about it?"_

_"Sure ... I'm leaving the day after tomorrow. I have some things to tend to at General Hospital before I go back." Zander thinking about it was better then a flat out "no", which is what Cameron got when he had first arrived at the loft. He guessed there was some progress made, maybe just a little ... a little was better then nothing and may just be enough to get Zander home to see his mother and to face the demons of his past._

_Zander walked his father to the door and they said a short goodbye. Zander watched his father walked down the wooden staircase then he closed the door and leaned back against it, thoughts of what could happen if he went back home, even a short time, he wasn't sure if he could risk it all. It would mean telling Emily everything. He just wasn't sure he was ready for her to hear all about the past he had kept buried for so long._


	24. Chapter 24

_Cameron hadn't been gone long before Emily returned from running her errands. She found Zander lying on the couch waiting for her, it was obvious to her he was upset with the way things went with his father. She set her bags down at the door and removed her coat. She went and sat down by his side as he sat up and gave her some room to sit with him._

_"Are you okay" she asked as he rubbed his hands over his face._

_"Yeah I'm fine ..." he replied though she saw there was something he wasn't telling her._

_"You can talk to me Zander ... about anything. You know that right" she replied reassuring him he could trust her._

_"Yeah I know ... I'm just not sure I can tell you this."_

_"Can you try? I really would like to help you if I can."_

_"There's nothing anyone can do ..."_

_"Do you trust me, Zander"_

_"Of course I do ..." he replied and looked up at her._

_"Can you trust me enough to tell me what's going on with you"_

_Zander got up from his seat and walked towards the elongated window. He did trust her, completely. But his past was something he hadn't talked about with anyone, no one else knew for certainty who he really was, and he wanted to keep it that way. He changed his name and his identity to run from his past, telling Emily, would change all that and he would be back to being who he tried his damndest to get away from. He sighed and turned his head towards her, the look in her eyes sincere._

_"Come away with me" he blurted out._

_"What? Where" she asked wondering where that came from._

_"Upstate New York."_

_"Okay .. what's in upstate New York"_

_Zander hesitated. "My parents live in upstate New York, now. Dad wants me to come home for a visit."_

_She rushed to him, all smiles. "I'd love to go with you." Her smiles disappeared when he didn't return one. "Are you sure about this? You don't seem to sure."_

_"Yeah I'm sure. Besides, dad likes you. For the first time in my life, he approves."_

_"Good ... when do you want to go? I mean I'll have to tell Mr. Lansing that I'm taking a few days off, but I'm sure he'll understand."_

_"Hey, look if going away is gonna cause problems with your work, I'll just go myself."_

_"Don't worry about Mr. Lansing. This is important to you, and ... it's important to me that I go with you." she smiled._

_"Okay, well ... dad's leaving the day after tomorrow. Is that too soon"_

_"Not at all. I'll make the arrangements tomorrow." she replied and he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her._

_"Thank you ..."_

_"For what ..."_

_"For everything. For believing in me, for trusting me, for going on this trip with me ... you have been incredible."_

_"I'm here for you, Zander ... you can trust that."_

_"I better call my father and tell him we're going with him. I'm sure he'll be so happy to hear that." Zander rolled his eyes after his remark._

_"Any special reason he wants you to come home? Why now"_

_"I don't know, he says my mother wants to see me ... at least that's the excuse he gave me. Who knows with him."_

_Zander called the hospital hoping his father would be there, but he wasn't. He called his hotel room, he wasn't there either, but he left a message with the front desk clerk, asking his father to call him as soon as he'd get the message._

_Emily sat down on the couch and waited for Zander to finish with his phone calls. When he was finished, he came over and sat down next to her. She didn't want to press the issue of his past, she figured in time he'd let her in and tell her about it. She was hoping him being home with his parents would trigger something in him and get him to open up to her. Whatever it was, it laid heavily on his mind._

_She laid back against the arm of the couch, her legs opened up to him and invited him to her. He laid down, his back against her, his head laid gently against the soft mounds on her chest. She wrapped her legs around him and held him in close to her. Her hands caresses his shoulders as they laid there together, before they realized it, they had fallen asleep in each others arms._

_His past weighing heavily on his mind, what he was going to come face to face with when he got home not known and it scared him. He was unsure of his future with Emily, he had hopes that she would stand by him, but he had no guarantees. The fear of losing someone like Emily was great, he had never had some one like her in his life and now that he had her, he didn't want to lose her, or what they had started to build. His past sketchy had best, he wasn't sure of all of it, he was confused by it. It would be difficult to explain it to someone else, and he wasn't sure he should. _

_Telling of his past and who he was, was a huge step for him, he was hoping he was doing the right thing in opening his heart and bearing his soul to Emily. But he wouldn't know if it was the right thing, until he did it ... it was the chance he had to take, if he wanted to keep her in his life. His past would always be a huge question mark, and it would haunt them. He had to take the chance, even if it meant losing her, something he feared._


End file.
